


Welcome To the End

by Thisisme2020



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Developing Relationship, Free Will, Goodbyes, Pain, Series Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:47:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 28,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22262818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thisisme2020/pseuds/Thisisme2020
Summary: Sam and Dean fight for their freedom.  They no longer want to be Chuck's puppets in his stories.  The price of their freedom comes at a very high price.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	Welcome To the End

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at actually submitting Fan Fiction. I hope you enjoy. I wrote this during winter hiatus of Season 15. Not really how I want the series to end, but I really enjoy how this turned out. I know has their own opinions on how the series will end and it is really fun to see what people come up with. Very creative.

CHAPTER 1  
It had been weeks since Sam brought Eileen back to a human form. He was so happy to have her back but at the same time, he was very anxious and confused at what he felt. Sam didn’t have a good record with the women in his life. Jessica burned on the ceiling. He killed Madison because she was a werewolf, he couldn’t save. He helped Dean kill Ruby, well because she was a demon and Sarah was killed by Crowley because he wouldn’t step down from the trials. Amelia’s husband came back from the war when she thought he was dead. He had to leave because it was the right thing to do. And yes, he had several women when he didn’t have a soul, but he really didn’t count them.  
When Eileen came into his life, he felt a real connection with her. The fact that she was deaf made her even more special to him. He tried to freshen up on his sign language skills so that he could try to communicate more on her level. Eileen had to leave the county when she accidentally killed one of British Men of Letters. She knew that they were after her and wanted her dead. She left without saying goodbye. The next time he heard from her was after she was found dead, killed by hellhounds. Eileen had mailed a letter to Sam and Dean asking to come stay with them for a while. It was the only thing Sam had left from her.  
As weeks went on, Eileen clearly wanted to get closer to Sam. She would leave hints or say things to him to let him know that she wanted to move forward. Something always seemed to happen or get interrupted. Sam just felt that this was a sign that it was too soon or that it wasn’t meant to be. Today was different.

CHAPTER 2  
“Sam, my brain is fried. I need to take a break. You do to”.

She looked at Sam with her big brown eyes. He returned the look with a sense of want, but also with a sense of fear. He reached his hand out and placed it on top of hers. Taking a big breath and placing his other hand on her arm. They just stared into one another’s eyes. Sam started to lean in and then the sound of the bunker door opening startled them both. It was Cass.

“Cass what are you doing here. I have been calling and texting you for weeks. Where have you been?”

“Sam, I know, and I am sorry, but we need to talk. I have been doing some thinking and I think I might be able to figure out where God is. Has your wound healed?”

“No, it hasn’t, Cass. What is this is about”?

“Sam, when you shot God, I think a piece of you was shot into him. That is why it cannot heal. It is why you are seeing what you are seeing in your dreams or nightmares. He is showing you scenarios on how either you or Dean are going to die. I don’t think that Chuck is aware that you are seeing these visions. Maybe if I can probe your wound, I can figure out where Chuck is or if I can’t see, then I am hoping that you will be able to.”

Eileen’s look of concerned immediately showed on her face. She knew this was not a good idea and knew that this was going to be extremely dangerous. Sam could feel that Eileen was anxious about the whole idea but reassured her that everything would be fine.

Sam sat on the foot of the bed and slid his shirt down so that the wound on his shoulder would be visible and accessible for Cass. He took a deep breath because somehow, he knew that this was going to be very painful.

Cass placed his hand over the wound and closed his eyes as the glow from his hand focused on Sam’s shoulder. Sam’s face grimaced in pain. He looked away and tried to breathe through it.

“Sam, are you doing ok? Is this too much?”

Sam fighting through the pain responded with a yes and for Cass to keep going. Eileen stood by feeling helpless. Cass turned up the angel juice to dig deeper. Sam was having a hard time holding off the pain. It was clear that he was not going to be able to withstand it much longer.

Then suddenly it was like an explosion of power, throwing Sam up off the bed and slamming him into the wall. His body came crashing back down onto the bed completely lifeless.

“Sam, No!!!!” Eileen cried out.

She ran to his side and supported his head that was dangling off the side of the bed. She checked for a pulse and thankfully found one. Cass lifted Sam’s legs to get him onto the bed. They both tried waking him, but nothing was working.

After 30 mins of waiting for Sam to wake up, Cass decided to call Dean. Dean needed to come back to the bunker to help with Sam. Not to mention, Dean would never forgive him if Sam died on his watch and wasn’t there.

“Dean you need to call me back ASAP. Sam is badly hurt, and I need your help! Call me, Please!’

Cass also decided to make a phone call to the Russian shaman, Serge. Since he screwed up with saving Jack, he felt that Serge, owed him. Cass needed him to save Sam. He was desperate at this point.

Eileen sat by Sam’s bedside holding his hand and wiping his forehead from the sweat caused by the onset of fever. Something bad is happening and there is nothing that Eileen can do about it. Sam gave her life back to her and now she will do whatever she can to save his life.

Serge arrived at the bunker. Cass took a huge risk bringing him there. Dean would be furious if he knew he brought in an outsider. Especially with it being the likes of Serge.

Cass brought him down to the infirmary where Sam and Eileen were. Immediately, Eileen begged for Serge to help Sam. There had still been no sign of movement and Sam was completely still except for the rise and fall of Sam’s chest. Eileen was unable to hear Sam’s heartbeat, but she could watch him breathe.

“Can you help him? Please, you must help Sam”, Eileen said with a worried tone to his voice.

Serge shook his head and responded with a “I will do what I can”. He placed his bag on the bed next to Sam’s still body. He pulled out a large crystal and ran it up his chest. The crystal glowed. Something was happening. Eileen and Cass patiently waited for Serge to tell them what was wrong with Sam.

“Well”, Castiel snarled. “What is going on with Sam?”

“We have a problem. What were you doing when this happened?’ Questioned Serge.

“I was using my powers to try to probe Sam’s wound. We are trying to locate Chuck”, Castiel said sternly.

Serge responded with, “Sam is dying. From what you described to me, when Sam shot God, they both received matching wounds. I believe that a part of Sam’s soul is in God’s wound. When you were digging around in his wound, you were stretching Sam’s soul outside his body. You stretched it so badly that if you would have gone any longer, you would have killed Sam. Sam being thrown was his soul telling you to stop.”

Almost in tears, Eileen softly asked “Can you fix this? Please don’t let Sam die”.

“Yes, my dear. I can help Sam. It will be tricky. I cannot heal his wound, but I believe I can put Sam back to the way he was before Castiel did the damage”.

Serge mixed some ingredients to make a paste. He walked over to Sam and sat next to him. Eileen helped slide his shirt down so that Serge could apply the paste to the wound. Sam’s fever was getting worse at this point. His breathing was more rapid than before. They needed to hurry as they were not sure how much more time Sam had left.

Serge finished applying the paste and stepped back. Nothing was happening. Eileen and Castiel stood there confused as to why Sam was not waking up. Suddenly, Sam took in a huge breath of air into his lungs. He was struggling to breathe after that. He was showing a lot of pain but was not opening his eyes. Eileen rushed to his side trying to calm him down. 

Castiel grabbed a hold of Serge and backed him against the wall. Demanding to know what is happening to Sam.

“What is happening to Sam? You were supposed to heal him. He is in pain”, Castiel yelled!

“You are correct Castiel. Sam is still dying. In fact, I made it worse. Sam is going to die much faster now. The best thing you can do, is to put him out of his misery. I’m pretty sure, whatever you did to Sam, happened to Chuck as well. Chuck can see inside of Sam’s mind. The only way you will be able to stop God, is to kill Sam. God cannot be killed, but you now have given God the advantage. Sam will now be his puppet on a string. This is what is best for all of you. Kill Sam now and stand a chance. If you don’t, God will turn Sam against all of you and you will be forced to make horrible decisions and I don’t think you are prepared to make those decisions.”

Eileen left Sam’s side and ran over to Serge. With every ounce of anger that was going through her, she punched Serge in the face and then began choking him. “You will fix this, and you will fix this now. I will kill you myself, if you don’t heal Sam. I don’t care what your reasons are behind this, but right now, you need to fix this. We will deal with the rest later.”

Sam’s body had fallen still once again. His breathing was almost nonexistent. Eileen went back to his side and leaned over to whisper in his ear. “Don’t give up Sam. You can’t leave me”.

Serge stood over Sam and placed his hand on his chest. He spoke Latin words to break the spell he had cast upon him earlier. Sam quickly shot up from the bed, not knowing where he was or what had happened. The first person he saw was Eileen. He grabbed her hand to assure her that he was ok.

Castiel escorted Serge quickly out of the bunker and was told to never show his face around again because if he did, Castiel was going to end him himself.

Chapter 3  
Dean came barging through the bunker door about an hour later and ran down to Sam’s room. There he found Sam, sound asleep in his bed. Eileen’s head was resting on Sam’s arm and Castiel was sitting in a chair in the corner watching over them both. Dean let out a sigh in relief. He couldn’t reach anyone by phone and was thinking the worst all the home. He signaled for Cass to following him out into the hall.

Cass spent the next several minutes telling Dean what had happened. He was worried that Dean would be furious with him for almost killing Sam. Though Dean wanted to be upset with him, he also saved Sam’s life. Dean also knew that if what Serge said was true, Sam was in danger. If push came to shove, would he be able to kill his brother to stop Chuck from destroying the world. This weighed very heavily on Dean’s mind. He left Cass to go to the kitchen for a much-needed drink.

Castiel returned to Sam’s room. Neither Sam nor Eileen had moved since he left. Sam was exhausted from the day’s festivities and Eileen almost lost Sam. She was not prepared for that. She stirred just for a moment to place her hand on Sam’s chest so that she knew that he was still breathing and then she laid her head back down and closed her eyes.

CHAPTER 4  
Morning came and Sam slowly began to move around. Eileen was already awake and sitting in the corner watching Sam from a distance. He swung his legs over and placed his head in his hands rubbing his eyes and then running his hands through his hair. He was testing the water to see how his body was feeling. Other than feeling like he had slept for a week, he felt pretty good. Eileen got up and walked over to him. She sat next to him and put her hand on his hand and squeezed. Sam turned to look at her. He could tell something was wrong.

“What’s wrong Eileen? Are you ok?” Sam kind of half signed the words to her. Even though he didn’t know how to sign completely, she was always happy when he even signed just a few words or small phrases. “Eileen you need to talk to me. What is wrong?”

“Sam”, as she looked into his eyes. He was completely focused on her now and gave her his full attention.  
“Yesterday really scared me. When Serge told us that you were dying, my heart nearly stopped. I didn’t know what to do. I felt so helpless. I was given a second chance at life because of you Sam and now you were going to die. There is so much that I have wanted to tell you or share with you. I have never been with someone like you. You truly care for everyone around you and even when you are suffering and hurting, you find a way to make things better”.

Then there was a knock at the door. It was Dean coming to check in on them both.

“Knock Knock. Can I come in? Hey, um I just wanted to make sure everyone was wake and breathing this morning. How are you feeling Sam?”

“Hey Dean. Um” clearing his throat, “I feel ok. Just tired, but I will be ok.”

“That’s good man. Glad to hear you are doing ok. You really had us worried yesterday. Why don’t you jump in the shower and get cleaned up? Then maybe we can make some breakfast and then it you are up to it; we can all sit down and discuss what is next”.

Sam takes a deep breath and looks at Eileen. She turns to Dean and says “Dean, do mind if Sam and I have a few more minutes?”

“Uh sure. You kids take all the time you need. I’m going to go shower myself and then I will run into town to pick up some supplies for breakfast. Just let me know if you need anything”. Dean turned and left the room closing the door behind him. He knew what happened yesterday was tough on them both, so he wanted given them sometime to talk things out.

Dean was happy that Eileen was around because Dean was never much of a talker about things. Sam has probably 35 years’ worth of stuff he needed to talk about and never did because Dean just didn’t want to talk about feelings. Eileen is perfect for him because she understands him, and he understands her. Things were going to get bad and he knew Sam was going to need a lot more support. More support than Dean was able to give him.

Sam and Eileen were still sitting on the bed just looking at one another. Sam was having a hard time holding eye contact, but that didn’t stop Eileen from looking at him. He knew where this conversation was going to go. He had feelings for her but was petrified to show it. He wasn’t even sure he could explain to her why. 

“Sam you need to look at me. Tell me what you are thinking. Let me in and help me understand what you are feeling. I’m not going to hurt you if that is what you are worried about. I could never hurt you. Sam please”.

Sam lifted his head a little and tears slowly creped down his cheeks. His hands were sweaty and shaking. All he could do is shake his head back and forth. He didn’t know what to say or how to say it. He desperately wanted to tell Eileen but wasn’t sure how to start.

Eileen let go of his hand and placed hers on both sides of his face. Forcing him to look at her. Fear washed over Sam and his breathing began to pick up. Eileen sensed it but didn’t let go. She wanted to assure him that she wasn’t going anywhere and that she was there for him.

Then she slowly began to lean in closer and closer to him. Her eyes never left his. Sam’s heart was racing and was about to jump out of his chest. Inside his head he tried to tell himself that this was ok and that there was no reason to be freaking out.

Then it happened. Their lips touched, and their eyes drifted close. A couple of tears continued down Sam’s face. He tried to hold it back. His lips began to quiver and just like that Sam quickly pulled away and said, “I’m sorry, I can’t” and quickly exited the room leaving Eileen all alone and wondering what had just happened.

She grabbed her phone and texted Dean. Her hands were shaking so badly that she could barely text anything.

“Dean! Sam is gone! He is very upset, and I don’t know where he went! Please help find him!”

Dean replied that he thought he might know where Sam went and though he was concerned, he knew Sam needed his space and time to collect his thoughts. He headed back to the bunker to have a much-needed talk with Eileen.

Dean arrived back to the bunker to find Eileen sitting in the map room. He placed his hand on her shoulder hoping he would not startle her. She quickly stood up and turned around wrapping her arms around Dean.

“I don’t know what happened Dean. I didn’t mean to scare Sam.” Tears flowed down her face faster than she could keep up.

Dean let go of her hug and pushed back a little so that he knew she could see what he was saying. Sometimes he forgot that she had to read his lips to understand what was being said.

“Eileen have a seat. You and I need to have a talk. I’m pretty sure I know what this is about, and I was hoping that Sam would be able to tell you in his own words, but I see that he wasn’t able too. This has nothing to do with you directly Eileen. Sam has had a rough life when it has come to the women. When Sam was 8 months old, our Mom burned on the ceiling in his nursery. Then when he was at Stanford, he girlfriend Jessica, also died being burned on the ceiling of his apartment, just like our mother. Sam was going to propose to her and never got the chance. Her death was very hard for him to get over. He had nightmares for months after it happened.  
He met a woman on a hunt. She wasn’t a hunter, but she understood what we did and didn’t freak out. She was killed by Crowley about 6 years ago when Sam was going through the trials to close the gates of hell. Crowley was targeting people we loved or really cared about. Sarah was married and had a little girl, but he didn’t care. It was someone Sam had cared for at some point in his life and was going to take her away from him.

There was a time that I went to Purgatory. Sam was lost and just ran from life. He met a woman whom he fell in love with. They bought a house together in Texas and even had a dog. Sam thought I was dead, and Amelia had lost her husband in the war or so they thought. A few months later, her husband was found alive, and I was back from Purgatory. Amelia wanted Sam to stay, but he knew that her husband needed a chance to be with his wife. Sam left and never went back to her. He struggled with that too.  
When, Sam lost his soul, he had a lot of meaningless hookups. He doesn’t remember any of them and it’s probably best. He also had a twisted relationship with a Demon which we had to kill, and he fell in love with a werewolf, whom we were trying to save. Sam had to kill her too.

Eileen, Sam just doesn’t know how to have a successful relationship with anyone. They have almost always turned out deadly. I’m pretty sure he is afraid that if he falls in love you, something bad will happen.

I’m so sorry you had to find out like this. This is very painful for Sam to talk about. He has pretty much pushed every woman away. Please Eileen, I need you to be patient with Sam. You are so good for him right now and even after what happened yesterday, he is clearly going to need you even more. I will always be here for Sam, but there are just somethings that I can’t give him. Just be there when he is ready.”

Eileen just sat there in shock for a moment. Wiping tears from her face she stood back up and hugged Dean. “Thank you for telling me Dean. I had no idea it was this traumatic for him”.

She went back to her room and curled up under the blankets and thought about everything Dean had just told her. No wonder Sam was so scared and nervous. He was the strongest person she had ever met, but also, she had never met someone with the biggest heart. A heart that had been broken so many times.

CHAPTER 5  
Sam came back to the bunker after a couple of hours of just walking around. He needed to clear his head. It was time to face his fears. Sam needed to see Eileen. He needed to tell her how he felt and hopefully it wasn’t too late.

“Hey Dean. Um do you know where Eileen is? Did she leave?”

“Hey Sam. Come sit for a moment, have a cold one.”

Sam pulls up a seat and pops open the beer bottle. He was not sure what Dean was going to tell him, but he knew he needed something to help him through this and Dean was the only one that would be able to do that.

“Eileen is pretty upset right now. Not because you ran out on her, but because of what I talked to her about. I know it is something that you probably wanted to tell her, but I felt I should have at least given her the heads up. She cares a lot about you and seeing you upset scared her. Especially since she didn’t know why.”

“I know you are scared to move forward with her. I get that man, but you need to think about this. You either go for it and hope for the best and take whatever happens or you don’t do a thing and always wonder what if. We don’t know what is going to happen with us and Chuck. You know Chuck wants this story to end and end in a horrible way. One of us is not going to walk away from this. Worse yet, neither of us may walk away from this. You deserve to be happy, even if it may only be for a short time. You must take a chance Sam. You won’t find this answer in any book. No spell is going to give you the outcome either.”

“We don’t get to meet people like Eileen very often. She gets us, she gets what we do, and she still decided to stay around. Not to mention, you Sam, gave her a second chance at life. You know I don’t believe much in fate, but I don’t know what else to call this. She is down in her room. Go find her and talk to her. Really talk to her.”

Dean finished his beer and left. Before he left, he put his hands-on Sam’s shoulders and said “You got this Sam. I believe in you and now I need you to just believe in yourself”.

Sam took a deep breath and just looked at the bottle he was holding. His hands were shaking, and his mind was going a mile a minute. He thought about Jessica, his Mom, Amelia and Sarah. He also thought about Jo and Ellen who had died trying to protect him and his brother. He thought about the lives that he helped save other the years. He thought Ruby and Lilith and everything he had done without a soul. Him not looking for Dean when he went to Purgatory. Not being there for Kevin when he needed him most and even though he was not directly involved, the death of Kevin. He remembers that moment like it happened yesterday. He thought about how much of a disappointment his was to his father. Even though he had the chance to talk to his dad one last time, he still doesn’t quite feel at peace. One thing he was at peace with even though they have had their ups and downs, was Dean. Dean has tried to keep him safe all his life whether he knew it or not. Sam sometimes took advantage of that, but he knew that Dean lived his life to protect him. Selling his soul to bring him back is proof of that.

Sam’s life was anything but normal. His future was uncertain. He knew that Chuck wasn’t going to let Sam out of this story unscathed or unharmed. Basically, he knew his time was short. He needed to figure out how he wanted to move forward. He was not going to go down without a fight, that is the about the only thing he was sure of.

CHAPTER 6  
Sam went back to his room to begin working on what to do about Chuck. He had to help Dean figure out a plan to take him down. When he was unconscious, he saw glimpses of Chuck. He saw that he was not at full strength and so he must use this to his full advantage. Then there was a knock at the door.

“Sam. Sam are you in there? Sam, please open the door.”

Sam opened the door and there stood Eileen. She was signing faster than Sam was able to understand. He grabbed her hands.

“Eileen slow down. What is wrong? I can’t understand what you are saying”.  
“Sam it’s Sabrina, my hunter friend. We were on a video call and she was hunting a vampire nest. She was attacked! Please help me find her!”  
Sam grabbed his jacket and they were off to the last place Eileen knew that Sabrina was. Whatever had transpired over the last 24 hours was put on the back burner for now. Eileen needed help and Sam was there.

“Eileen are you sure this is the place?  
“Yes, I’m positive. She texted me the address before she was attacked.”

“Ok Ok. This is just not a typical vampire hangout”.

Just as they turned to look around. There he was. Chuck was right in front of them.

“Hey Sam. Hey Eileen. I bet you are wondering what we are all doing here.”

Sam gasped and took a step closer to Eileen. He took out his phone and quickly tried to call Dean. It was able to ring once before Chuck flung his phone out of his hands.

“Oh, no you don’t. We can’t have Dean coming to the rescue. Besides, this is between you and me. This has nothing to do with your brother. “

Sam knew he wasn’t going to be able to hurt Chuck, but he needed to try something so that he and Eileen could escape. He lunged towards him and Chuck reached out his hand and touched Sam’s forehead. Just like that Sam’s body collapsed to the ground out cold. Eileen rushed to his side, immediately checking for a pulse.

“Don’t worry, he is alive. I wouldn’t kill him. That would be to easy. Besides, that is not how the story ends.”  
Chuck reached over and touched Eileen on the forehead too sending her to the ground right next to Sam. Chuck, just like that, snapped his fingers and transported them back to the casino. Both still unconscious and now tied to a chair and gaged.

Eileen slowly came too and began to struggle trying to break free from the restraints. She was completely helpless. Not being able to hear anything and being gaged made it near  
impossible for her to communicate anything.

Chuck grabbed a pitcher of beer and threw it on Sam quickly causing him to wake up.

“I have always wanted to do that. That was kind a fun. It’s satisfying. We need to have a chat Sam. We need to discuss these matching wounds we have. I know you have been poking around in my mind and you have probably seen some things. You probably also know that I am not at full strength. Right now, I do not know how I am going to get my powers back, but I am pretty sure I will. I am also sure it has something to do with that wound we share. You see, the gun, was not meant to be used on me. The person who shot the gun is supposed to receive the same deadly shot back. Problem is, I can’t be killed. So, my powers were weakened. Just in the 15 minutes you were out, I know that if I touch my wound, I know it hurts, but I also know it hurts you. See watch”.

Chuck pulled his shirt down to reveal the wound and touched it. Sam immediately flinched with pain. The gag prevented him from screaming. Eileen could only sit back and watch. She was not able to hear what Chuck was saying to Sam because his back was to her. She also knew Sam was in trouble.  
Chuck pulled open Sam’s button-down flannel and then ripped his t shirt to make the wound easier to reach. Sam struggled to break free. The rope rubbed his skin raw leaving his wrists red and broken.

“Sam stop struggling. You are just going to make everything worse. I’m going to test a few things to see just how much we are linked together. I have a feeling this is going to be very painful. Hopefully more you than me. Either way, I need to see how this is all working”.

Meanwhile back at the bunker, Dean was trying to get a hold of Sam. His phone rang once and when he answered all he heard was Chuck’s voice. Then the phone went silent. He had to find out what happened to Sam. Eileen wasn’t answering her phone either, but he figured they were together.

“Cass, I need you back here now. Sam and Eileen are missing, and I think Chuck has them!”

“Dean. Dean have you found them?”

“No not yet! I am pulling all the traffic cameras in the area. Baby is still in the garage, so I am looking for Eileen’s car. I am also trying to ping towers in the area where Sam’s cell phone is. There has not been any new calls or text that have gone out. Cass, I don’t know where they are! They could be anywhere if Chuck has them.”

“Dean we will find them. You said that you heard Chuck’s voice. What did he say?”

“Wait I think I have something. I followed Eileen’s to a parking garage about 45 miles from here. Let’s go!”

Back at the casino, all you could hear was Sam’s muffled blood curling screams. Chuck quickly discovered that he could inflict the pain on Sam, but not feel the pain like Sam did. Chuck even dug into the wound using an angel blade. Hoping he could sever the ties between the two, but not even that would work. Sam wasn’t going to be able to take much more. He was growing weaker by the minute. The darkness was starting to take over.

Eileen had tears running down her face as she watched Chuck torture Sam and used him as a human experiment. It was killing her not knowing what Chuck was saying to Sam. Her mouth was still gagged and so was Sam’s. The only line of communication they had between the two of them was by looking at each other. She could feel all his pain in just by him looking at him. She did not need to hear his cries or screams. She knew Sam wasn’t going to last much longer. So did Chuck.

Chuck wanted to do one last thing before he sent Sam and Eileen back to that parking garage. He walked behind Sam and placed his hands on both sides of his head and pressed. Lifting his head back, Sam’s eyes struggling to stay open. His breathing quickened as a jolt of energy passed through his body. Sam began choking and gagging. His eyes squeezed shut. His stomach began to turn. Sam was going to get sick.

“There you have it, Sam. This is how it is going to end or at this moment, this is what I have planned. That’s the thing. You will never know until it happens.”

Chuck then snapped his fingers and sent Sam and Eileen back to the parking garage. Dean and Cass appeared 3 minutes later. Cass found Eileen immediately. She was unconscious but slowly coming too. She had bumped her head when Chuck sent her back.  
Dean was running around trying to find Sam. Calling his name out. Trying to find a sign that Sam was around somewhere. Then he heard his name being called very softly.

“Dean….”

“Sam, where are you?”

“Dean” Sam softly said his name again. Hoping that Dean would find him soon before he passed out again.

“Hey, hey, hey Sam. I got you. Shhh don’t move. Don’t move Sam until I can check you out really quick. Then we will get you both out of here.”  
Dean starting checking Sam out. Quickly saw the blood trickling down his shoulder. The wound was opened. He checked his head for bumps and ribs for tenderness. He noticed the rawness of his wrists, but other than that, it seemed his shoulder was the biggest concern.

Dean got him up. Sam slowly walked under his own power back to the Impala. Waiting was Castiel and Eileen. Eileen looked a lot better than Sam. She sat in the back seat with Sam so she could hold pressure to his shoulder. Cass drove her car back to the bunker. Sam laid his head on Eileen’s lap and within minutes was sound asleep. He was totally exhausted.

CHAPTER 7  
They got back to the bunker and Dean helped Sam to the infirmary. Eileen cleaned up Sam’s wound the best that she could. Dean left her to finish and he headed up to the kitchen. Cass was waiting with a couple of beers.

“How’s Sam doing?”

“Sam is going to be ok. Eileen is finishing putting on the dressing. Once he wakes up, I hope we can figure out some things. Find out what happened and maybe where to go from here. Sam is a strong kid, but I don’t know how much more of this crap he can take. Eventually he is going to start wearing down, Cass.”

Eileen came into the kitchen and got a beer out of the refrigerator and sat down next to Dean. She had a concerned look on her face but also showed signs of relief. She has endured so much with Sam since she was given her life back. These were life lessons of being in Sam Winchester’s life. Eileen was not about to leave as she was invested in their lives at this point. 

A couple hours later, Sam came walking into the map room where the other three were. He wasn’t moving extremely fast but was moving under his own power.

“Hey looks who’s up,” says Dean. “How are you feeling?”

“Um, ok, I think. Shoulder is a little sore, but other than that. I’m alive,” said Sam.

“Sam, we need to talk about what happened. I know you really don’t want to relive what Chuck did but is there anything that he did that will help us?” asked Castiel.

“Let’s just say, he was not able to sever our connection. He dug around in there a lot but what I do know is this. Chuck can hurt me without hardly hurting himself. It’s like he feels the pain some, but that is it. Unlike me, I will eventually pass out or have a temporary side effect. Chuck may be weaker, but he is still powerful. In one of my visions, I saw Amara. She said that he needed her help to leave this human existence and that she wasn’t going to help him do that. But clearly Chuck said this was the end. I think he is writing again. Dean, Chuck showed me a vision of what could be the final story. It really scared me.”

Sam didn’t go into details but I’m sure Dean knew how bad it was just by Sam’s body language and facial expressions. He thought it would be best if he didn’t. It would put everybody’s lives in danger, when focus is a must. Sam took a deep breath and cleared his throat. He didn’t want to seem defeated, but in the given moment he felt unsure where to go next. How much time did he have left before God decided his story needed to end?

CHAPTER 8  
Dean decided to go for a drive. Cass disappeared to try to find some information on their next step. He thought he might have a lead but didn’t want to say anything until he was sure. Sam went to his room, listened to music with his noise cancelling headphones and broke open a book. It was Sam’s way of running away without actually going anywhere.

Eileen walked through the bunker trying to find anyone that maybe around. Dean was clearly gone since Baby was not in the garage. Cass could technically be anywhere, but it was safe to say he wasn’t there either. She headed down to Sam’s room to knock on the door. Hopefully he was still here.

“Sam are you in there?" Eileen knocked on his door. “Sam??” She knocked again. He didn’t come to the door and so she slowly opened the door and just peaked in. There she saw Sam leaning up against the headboard with is headphones on. A book laid across his chest with his hand on top of it. She just stared at Sam watching his chest rise and fall very calmly. For the first time in several weeks, Sam just seemed at peace. This made her happy. She quietly walked in although she knew Sam wasn’t going to hear her. She sat down on the corner of his bed and placed her hand just so it slightly touching his.

Sam began to stir but wasn’t waking up. He was having a dream. Eileen wasn’t sure if she should wake him up or let it play out. Sam’s breathing picked up and his hands would twitch. He was trying to say something, but Eileen was not able to understand what he was saying. Sam was really in distress at this point and then he quickly awoke. Threw off his headphones and tried to gather himself together. Eileen grabbed his hand and tried to help him calm down.

“Sam are you ok. You were having another dream. Just take a minute and breathe Sam. It’s going to be ok”.

Then Sam just snapped.

“Eileen, how do you know that? Everything that you have seen and heard at this point; how can you say everything is going to be ok? I am not going to survive whatever it is Chuck has planned for me. If you knew what was good for you, you would just leave this bunker, forget about everything that you have seen and heard and run as far away as you can.”

Sam was so upset. He was deliberately trying to sabotage what he had with Eileen. He just couldn’t take it anymore. She was given a second chance at life and the last thing she should waste it on was him.

“Sam stop! Don’t say that. I am here because I want to be here. We hare hunters and we don’t know from one day to the next if our number is up. I care for you Sam Winchester. Why can’t you see that? Why won’t you just let me in? I am not going to run away! So, whether you like it or not, I am not leaving! Stop pushing me away!”

“Eileen, please just go. I need you to go. There is nothing you can do for me at this point. The only thing that will happen is you will die if you continue to stay around me. You will be dead Eileen! Don’t you understand that! I am cursed and have been my entire life. You will be no different. I am begging you, please. Please, Eileen. Just leave here and forget we ever met.”

Sam was hurting so much on the inside and his outside could no longer hold it back. He got up from the bed and left. Leaving Eileen behind. There was nothing more he could say to her to make her understand. Sam didn’t know where he was going, but all that you could hear was the slam of the bunker door as he left.

Eileen went to her room and started packing what few things she had. It was clear Sam didn’t want her at the bunker anymore and she didn’t want to cause him anymore pain. Eileen didn’t want to leave, and she knew Sam will regret what he said to her later, but she just didn’t know what else to do.  
Before she left, Eileen left a note for Dean on the map table. It was short but to the point. She slowly walked up the steps and looked down at the place she had called home the last several weeks. Then, just like that as the door shut, the bunker was quiet, and no one was left.

CHAPTER 9  
A couple of weeks went by. Sam and Dean had been going out on a few quick hunts. They cleared out a vamp nest and took care of some vengeful spirits in Minnesota. Castiel was still searching for information on the wound that Sam and Chuck share. Eileen, well, she was doing her own thing. Staying with a couple of her hunter friends until she could find a place of her own. Dean had tried reaching out to her a few times, but she would not return any of his texts. Even though Sam thought of Eileen, he didn’t speak of her. Even when Dean tried to force the issue, he would just shut down. He did miss her, but he knew this is what is best.

Sam and Dean were heading to Sioux Falls to check in on Jody. They had not seen her in a while and wanted to catch her up on what they knew, which wasn’t much. Dean was just hoping that Sam would open up to Jody. He is not going to talk to Dean, so Jody was the next best thing.

They were just about 10 miles out and Sam was sound asleep. Dean tries to let Sam sleep whenever he can because he knows he doesn’t sleep that much. Suddenly Sam woke up startled. His chest felt heavy and had shooting pain in his stomach. He didn’t know what was wrong.

“Dean, something is wrong. I can’t catch my breath. Ugh…. Dean!”

“Hang in there Sammy. We will be a Jody’s in a couple minutes. Try to take slow deep breaths.”

Dean pulls out his phone and called Jody. You could hear the fear in his voce.

“Jody, hey it’s Dean. Something is wrong with Sam. We are a couple minutes out. Is Alex there? He is complaining of shortness of breath and that his stomach is killing him. I can’t take him to the hospital. I will explain why once we get there. I just don’t know what to do!”

“Dean calm down. Alex is here and we will check Sam out when you get here. I need you to focus and get here in one piece.” Jody tried to keep calm for everyone. “Alex, can you go get the triage kit? Dean is on his way here with Sam and Sam isn’t doing very well at the moment. He is complaining about not being able to catch his breath and stomach pains. Dean said he can’t take him to the hospital and so we need to help all we can.”

Alex gathered all the medical supplies she had. She kept a lot of stuff around for when injured hunters would to the house. Alex worked the ER for a reason and now she will be put to test.

Dean pulled up to Jody’s within minutes and ran over to Sam’s side of the impala to help his brother into the house. He took him back to Jody’s bedroom and laid him on the bed. Sam still wasn’t breathing right and was still in a lot of stomach pain. He was beginning to feel feverish too.

“Sam, I am going to look you over. Can you hear me? Sam, I need you to look at me so that I know that you understand what I am doing.” Alex sat next to Sam on the bed. “Can you tell me what happened before you started feeling like this?”

Sam gasping for breath, just quickly said “I, I was sleeping and wo, woke up from a nightmare. Alex, please make it stop. Please” …Sam begged.

“I am going to do what I can but right now I need to feel around your abdomen to see if I figure out why you are in pain. Did you eat anything or take anything?

Sam shook his head no. Dean watched on as Alex tried to help his brother. He had an awful feeling that what is wrong with Sam, isn’t anything that can be medically fixed. He left the room and went outside. He needed Castiel and he needed him now and since he wasn’t answering his phone, Dean decided to do the old fashion pray.”

“Cass, um…it’s Dean. I really need your help. I have tried to call your phone and you are not answering. Please, I need you buddy. Something is wrong with Sam and I don’t think it is anything Alex can do for him.”

Within moments, Cass appeared.

“Dean what’s wrong with Sam?”

“Cass, where have you been? Never mind…. We were driving here to see Jody. Sam was passed out sleeping when he just shot up out of the seat and couldn’t catch his breath and was complaining of stomach pains. He has a fever too. Cass, I don’t know what to do. What if it’s Chuck that’s doing this?”

“Dean, the reason I didn’t answer my phone is because I was in heaven. Amara would only meet with me unless we were in heaven.”

“Wait you were talking to Amara! Are you crazy Cass?”

“Listen to me Dean. She is very pissed off at Chuck. Right now, he needs her, and she doesn’t want anything to do with him. Chuck is able to mess with Sam. He can manipulate Sam’s thoughts. Their wounds are connected. The problem is, when Serge fixed Sam, he didn’t completely heal him. He left his soul tied to Chuck. This is giving Chuck a direct lifeline to Sam. It’s not just the wound anymore. Chuck couldn’t do anything to Sam other than cause pain through the wound. But now, because their souls are linked, Chuck can do almost anything to Sam right now.”

“What the hell Cass! How could this have happened? Can this be fixed? We have to do something!”

“Dean, there is more. I don’t know how to tell you this, but you need to know. From what Amara is telling me, each time Chuck taps into Sam’s soul, it weakens it. Kind of like with Jack. Each time he used his powers, he would burn off parts of his soul until there was nothing left. Except with Jack, since he was an angel, he could still live without a soul. Sam cannot. He will be worse than the last time he went through this. This is going to turn Sam into something evil. Before, he could at least try to act like he loved or cared about anything. This time won’t be that way.”

“What are you saying Cass? Are you trying to tell me that my brother is going to turn into some kind of a psychopath? That he is going to go on a killing spree?” Dean yelled at Cass. Tears are flowing down his cheek. Dean ran around to the side of the house and puked. Everything he ate and drank that day was now coming back out. Dean couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

Alex came outside to find Dean. She couldn’t figure out the source of Sam’s problems but was able to give him something to help him sleep. The stomach pain subsided for the time being. Jody was with him in case he woke up.

Dean spent the rest of the night mostly trying to process everything that Castiel had told him. He and Sam had been through a lot of crap over the years, but there was nothing that could prepare them for what is coming. He needed to find Eileen. She had every right to know and even if she decided not to come, he still felt he needed to tell her.

Dean sent a text message “Eileen, I need to talk to you. It’s about Sam. We are in Sioux Falls.”

CHAPTER 10  
Sam woke up the next morning. He was feeling very sluggish, but better than what he felt the night before. He walked out into the living room where Jody, Cass and Dean were sitting. For the next hour, Cass told Sam what he had told Dean the night before. Sam was in shock and in disbelieve. His body felt numb. Sam’s life went from bad to worse, in the worst possible way.

Things were quiet for a couple of weeks. Sam had only had 2 nightmares and for the most part, Chuck was leaving him alone. They didn't know why but he wasn’t complaining. Dean was trying to make Sam’s life as easy as possible and most importantly, keep his life as normal as it possibly could be.  
Sam had been doing a lot of thinking. He has had a lot of time to do that. This was different. He knows the end is coming and that his final chapters are being written. As a hunter, he always knew that his life span would be cut short. He had already died many times, but there was always that little bit of comfort knowing that Dean would save him or that Death decided it was not his day to die. The amount of people that he and Dean had lost was too many to count. He had lived his life in fear of who he was going to lose next, but also in fear of what he had suffered. How was Sam going to choose to live his remaining weeks or months if he is lucky? Should he just continue to live in fear of when his final day is, or should he take advantage of what time he has left. He has a brother that would do anything for him. He has a woman that he has pushed away that truly cared for him. He has friends that will support him and make sure he doesn’t go too far off the reservation.

Each time God decides he needs entertained, Sam will lose a part of his soul. Eventually, he will lose too much of it, that he will no longer be Sam. He will be a danger to everyone around him. Sam doesn’t want to be that person again. He doesn’t want to risk hurting people, especially people he cares about. An understanding needs to be made with everyone. Everyone needs to be on the same page, when that time comes. There will be no exceptions.

CHAPTER 11  
Over the next couple of days, Sam called everyone that was close to him to Jody’s house. He didn’t let anyone in on what he had do say. Everything would come out in due time.  
It was a beautiful day and it was a shame that it was soon going to turn somber. Dean, Cass, Jody, Donna, Claire, Alex, and even Eileen came to hear what Sam had to say. Sam was so happy that Eileen came. He owed this to her and later, he wanted to talk with her alone. He had some explaining to do.

“First let me say thank you to everyone that came today. I know you are all wondering why I called you here. I need your help. What I am about to say is very hard for me to say, but we all need to face the truth.”

Sam was sweating and was nervous in his words. He knew he needed to do this. He took a deep breath and began.

“Some of you already know what I am about to say, so bear with me. When I shot Chuck back at the cemetery, I was also shot. My wound never healed. Castiel tried to study the wound and tried to find out how we could track down Chuck. Things didn’t go well, and I almost died. A shaman came in to heal the damage that been done, but comes to find out, he didn’t heal me completely. My soul was now connected to Chuck’s. Because of this, I can see inside of Chuck’s head. It also means he can send me visions that have become nightmares. Chuck told us that the end is coming all because Dean and I know longer wanted to be a part of his story. He has been sending scenarios of how the ending will happen. Either I kill Dean or Dean will kill me. It’s the only way he will be satisfied.”

“Chuck abducted Eileen and me. He tried to sever the link we had between us, but it didn’t work. Chuck is not able to leave this world, but he is still very strong. Cass went to heaven and met with Amara. Comes to find out that Chuck not only has access to my thoughts, but he has full control of me through my soul. Each time Chuck messes with me, he takes part of my soul.”

Sam was really struggling at this point. He was pacing all around the room and caught himself rambling a few times. He had to do this. He had to make his wishes known.

“For those of you who didn’t know me 8 years ago, I lost my soul back then too. When I went to the cage, I was brought back without it. I didn’t care for anything and really didn’t care about anyone either. From what Amara has told Cass, eventually as time goes on, I will be soulless again. This time it will be worse. It sounds like, I will no longer be me and will be nothing but an uncontrollable human being. Actually, I don’t think I will be much of a human being at all.”

“Which brings me to why I brought you all here. I don’t want to become soulless Sam again. I just can’t. I don’t know how things could be worse than before, but if it is true”.… Sam took another deep breath and wipes his brow. “I don’t want to live”.

Dean shot up out of his seat. “Sam you need to stop right now. Do you hear me? This is crazy talk and I won’t have you doing this!”

“Dean, I need you to listen to me. I need you all to listen to me. I’m not saying I want you to kill me right here, right now. It’s far from it. What I am saying though, is this. Chuck has made it clear that the end of this story, means I kill Dean or Dean kills me. This is a set up for his final chapter. Me losing my soul will set this whole thing up. I don’t want Chuck to have this satisfaction. I need every single one of you to promise me this. When I get to the point where I am not me anymore, that one of you will end this. I have made peace with me dying, if that is what’s supposed to happen. What I haven’t made peace with, is me not leaving this life as Sam Winchester. “

Just as Sam spoke those words, he fell to the floor in extreme pain. He doubled over holding is gut and was gasping for air to move through his lungs. His screams got louder, and the tears ran faster. His whole body tensed up. Dean, Jody and Alex ran to Sam’s side. Trying to get him to roll over on his back, but he was so tense, they couldn’t move him. Alex leaned down so that she could be face to face with Sam. She needed to get Sam’s attention and focused.

“Sam. Sam., I need you to open your eyes. Sam open your eyes just like we did the last time. Come on Sam. Can someone go into my room and get the oxygen tank?”

Donna ran back to Alex’s room to grab the oxygen. Everyone else just kind of stood back and let them work on Sam. The last thing they wanted was Sam to be uncomfortable with them all staring at him.

“Thanks Donna! Sam I am going to put the mask on you ok. I need you to try to take some deep breaths. Power through the pain. It will subside soon.”

Alex took Sam’s hand and placed it on her chest. She needed him to try to match her breathing. It helped Sam to focus more on breathing than the pain. Dean watched on. Even though this was not the first time he experienced this, it didn’t make it any easier. Claire walked over to Dean and just stood close. She didn’t know what to say or to do, but hopefully Dean knew that she was there for him. Eileen could no longer tell what any one was saying and so she decided to go outside and get some fresh air.

Sam was slowly feeling better. His pulse had returned to normal and his breathing was better. He slid the mask down below his mouth and asked for Dean. Sam needed his brother.

“Deeann…Please don’t let me turn into something I don’t want to be. Promise me, you will abide by my wishes. Promise me….” Sam then closed his eyes and drifted into a sleep.

Dean lifted Sam up and held him in his arms. He didn’t care if it did look like a chick flick moment. His brother was dying, and he needed Sam to know that he was going to do whatever he could to keep him safe.

Sam came too about 30 minutes later. Everyone was outside talking and catching up. Sam went to the restroom and splashed some water on his face and tried to collect himself before joining everyone outside. At first, he felt embarrassed, but then he was kind of glad it happened in front of everyone. They could see firsthand what Chuck was doing to him and how important it was for them to carry out his wishes. Sam didn’t feel any different yet, but he didn’t know how many more times this would happen before he would start not being himself.

“Hey everyone. I wish I could say, I am sorry that that happened, but I really can’t. Yes, it’s scary, but this is something that is going to keep happening. I can’t stop it. I really hope you have thought about what I said earlier. I can’t stress how important this is to me. I don’t want to hurt any of you, and I hope you know that. This is a horrible decision to have to make and I know the decision won’t be made until it desperately needs to be made. I don’t want to die at all and please don’t think I have given up. It’s far from the truth.”

Everyone looked around at one another and then looked back at Sam and they all shook their heads yes. Sam eyes welted up with tears and all he knew what to do was to say “Thank you” with a smile on his face. Everyone formed a circle around him to hold him tight. They were not going to let Sam Winchester down. They understood now why this was so important to him. Even Dean, though was still afraid, understood what his little brother wanted.

CHAPTER 12  
Castiel disappeared so that he could keep working. Donna had to head back to Minnesota to cover her shift. Claire took off on a hunt and Alex left for her shift at the hospital. Jody and Dean hung back and sat at the dining room table and just talked. Dean needed to talk to someone, and Jody was there to listen. Along with drinking a few beers.  
Sam and Eileen sat out on the porch swing. No words were spoken. They just swung back and forth. You could feel they wanted to talk, but who was going to take that first step. It had been weeks since Sam last saw Eileen. Things did not end well between them and Sam knew he was wrong, He needed her to know how he felt and if there was anything left to salvage. Sam got up and grabbed a log. He put it in front of Eileen and sat down facing her. He wanted to be sure that she was able to understand everything he was about to say. Sam reached out and grabbed her hands.

“Eileen, I have so much I want to say to you, but nothing seems as important as I am so very sorry for everything I have done or said to you. You did not deserve any of that and if you chose to not to forgive me, I will understand. You can get up and leave right now and I won’t stop you because you deserve so much better. “

“Sam, I will stay. I don’t know if things can ever be what they once were because your words really hurt. I really cared for you and I thought you cared for me too. I actually thought that I did something wrong. That I hurt you.” Eileen said with tears dripping down her face.

“Eileen no. You did nothing wrong. All of this was my fault.” Sam moved in closer to look into her eyes. Rubbing her hands trying to comfort her. “I used my past failures to destroy what you and I had. That is no one’s fault but my own. You must believe me. I need you to believe me. Dean told you about my past. I know he did. I wanted to tell you myself, but I was afraid. My fears seem to run my life, more than I care to admit. Dean did what he could to raise me. He had to be my father, mother, big brother and mentor. He is the one who has tried to keep me safe after all these years. Now it is up to me to keep you all safe from what will become of me. But before it comes to that, I need to make amends with my life and the people in it. Every single one of you that were here today have impacted my life in one way or another.” Sam leaned over and placed his head on Eileen’s hand. Just to rest for a moment.

Eileen, trying with all her strength to hold back the tears, took her other hand and placed it on Sam’s head. She didn’t need to hear or see his face to know that Sam was openly weeping now. His pain of all these years were being released. She could feel is pain and sorrow now. At that moment she knew what she needed to do. Eileen was going to be by Sam’s side to help him fight for whatever he needs. She will be there to support Dean when he needs it too. They all must come together to try and stop God from writing his final chapter.  
Eileen bent over and kissed Sam on the back of the head and then whispered, “I am here for you Sam. I am not going to leave you”.

Sam lifted his head. She saw the wetness of his face from all the tears. They stared into each other’s eyes and then moved closer and closer. He placed his hands on both sides of her face to caressed her head and then they kissed. In that very moment, all the problems and conflicts were gone.

Dean and Jody were well into the 12 pack they had. There was a lot of silence between the two, but Jody knew what Dean was going through. She had sat at this table with him on many occasions, but this time was a little different. Especially having to deal with what Sam is going through and tough decisions that are soon to come.

“Jody, I have spent my entire life protecting Sam. I know I have not always been the best big brother and I have said things that I regret. I have done things that I am not proud of. All of it was to protect him. What if I have to kill Sam? What if this is what Chuck wants?"

Jody got up and hugged Dean from behind.

“Dean, this is all really hard to take in, but we are going to take whatever comes at us. Just like we always do. Yes, this time is different, but we are not going to just roll over and let God or whoever take over our lives without a fight. I have known you and Sam for a lot of years and that is one thing that I am positive of. Winchesters will never go down without a fight. Because that is who you are. That is what your Mom and Dad instilled into you both. That is what you both have lived by every day of your lives. Tonight, I will let you drink until you pass out and you can sulk in your sorrows, but tomorrow is a new day for everyone. We will not stop fighting Dean Winchester.”

For the rest of the night, Dean continued to drink in hopes that his pain would go away. Jody eventually made him stop and took him to Alex’s bedroom to sleep it off.

“Jody…. Jody where is Sam?” Dean said with heavily slurred speech.

“Shhh…. Dean take it easy. Sam is fine” assured Jody. “Sam and Eileen took off for a drive. They had somethings to talk about and get figured out. They will be back in the morning. I told them could go to my cabin for peace and quiet. They will be fine. Just like you are going to be fine.”

Dean on the verge of passing out managed to let a few more tears run out his eyes. Laying his head back onto the pillow and looking up at Jody. “I’m scared Jody. So scared”.

Then Dean slowly closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber. Jody covered him up and kissed him on the forehead.

“Good night Dean”.

Eileen and Sam drove up to Jody’s cabin to be alone and without interruptions. It was a chilly evening and Sam got some wood for the fireplace. They had stopped at the store for groceries so that Eileen could make a home cooked meal.

They sat and enjoyed each other’s company while eating dinner and drinking wine. They both told stories that made them laugh. Laughing always heals the soul. Especially now. It’s what they both needed. So much had happened that they both forgot how to live or even how to be happy.

Once they finished, they moved over to the couch with their wine and continued their conversations.

“Eileen. I need to say something to you.” Sam said.

“No wait. Let me say something first. I have been thinking and I know you may or may not agree with what I am about to say, but I need to say it. I get that you are afraid to get close to me because you think I am going to die, just for getting close to you. You have every right to feel that way. But I have to ask you this. We can enjoy the time we have together and deal with what may come in the future. Or you could continue to live in fear of the what if and regret not doing or feeling anything at all. Sam, I am willing to take whatever may come of us getting together. I will not regret anything especially if I die down the road because you Sam Winchester gave me a second chance at life. You didn’t have to use that spell on me, but you did. If I die again, I will die happy and fulfilled because I got to spend it with the person I care most about in this world. I too have suffered a lot. We no longer have to suffer alone. Dean cares for you and everyone that showed up today cares for you. We will get through this. Together!”

Eileen moved over closer to Sam. Wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. Sam rested his head on her shoulder. Closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He leaned back and their eyes met. She could feel his energy go right through her. Then they kissed. It was soft and slow in the beginning, but it got more intense as the minutes went on. Sam’s breathing began to quicken, not because of the heat of the moment, but because he started doubting what he was doing.  
Eileen could feel his heart pounding. It was like it was going to go right through his chest.

“I don’t know if can do this”. Sam said breathlessly. “I don’t want to mess this up. I am so scared right now. I have haven’t felt like this with anyone since Jess”.

Eileen took Sam’s hand and placed it on her chest. “Just breathe with me Sam. Nice and slow.” They just sat until Sam was a little more relaxed. “Sam we are going to be ok. I promise”.

Eileen was right. This whole thing was about living in the moment and enjoying what time he may have life. No regrets, no matter how painful it may end up. He stood up and lifted her up off the couch. Kissing her neck and moving over to her lips. Running his hands through her hair and down her back. He unbuttoned her shirt ever so carefully. She lifted his shirt up over his head and they reconnected with their lips.

For the rest of the evening Sam and Eileen connected together as one. Sam had not felt this good in a very long time. This was something that Sam was desperate for in many ways. This night was a night that neither of them would ever forget.

CHAPTER 13  
They woke up the next morning lying next to each other. Her head was resting on Sam’s chest. Just feeling the natural movement of his breathing. It wasn’t fast or slow, but content. Sam felt normal for the first time in a long time. In the back of his mind, he knew this wasn’t going to last, but for the moment, he didn’t care. They were meant to share this moment and to be happy.

They packed up their bags and headed back to Jody’s place. They needed to get Dean and head back to Kansas. They had work to do and no time to waste.

Jody said her goodbyes to the boys and to Eileen. She knew things would be different the next time they saw each other. She just hoped that when she did see them again that it wasn’t too late.

Sam and Dean took Baby home and Eileen followed in their car. She knew that the boys needed time together and to talk. She respected that. Things were going to get hard and lives were going to change. Dean needed his brother more than anything.

“I think we need to talk Sam” said Dean. “We need to come up with a game plan. I think we should still fight God because if that sets us free then I want to go for it. I’m worried Sam. I am worried what no matter what we do, Chuck is going to make things go the way that he wants them to go. It’s almost like we are reliving the year before I went to hell. But everything is going in slow motion and we are being tortured in different ways.”

“I know Dean. I wish I had answers for you. I am going to keep fighting too. We have never just sat back and let whatever happen. It is not in us, but at the same time, we have to face reality on some things. We need to be prepared. My role in hunting is going to have to change.” Sam turned and looked at Dean. A look that he is letting his brother down.

“What are you talking about Sam. You can still hunt. I think you need to continue to hunt. Not to mention that I don’t trust anyone else by myside other than you. I need you to hunt Sam!” Dean said in anger and desperation.

“Dean listen to me. I don’t feel I should physically go out on hunts. It’s too dangerous to anyone I am with. Chuck can mess around with me whenever he wants. What if it happened in the middle of a hunt? I am a distraction Dean and you will not be able to focus. I could get us both killed.” Sam pleaded with Dean.

“Look, I can still help. I will just do the job from the bunker. I will be the new Bobby Singer. Either Cass or Eileen can go with you on the hunts. Dean you know this is what needs to happen. Please understand, I don’t like it either, but this is what needs to happen.”

The rest of the trip home was in silence. Dean knew what Sam said was true, but he just didn’t want to believe it. Chuck is taking control away from the Winchesters and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

CHAPTER 14  
Amara was back in Vegas making her rounds at the casinos. Trying to avoid her brother at all costs, but that proved to be difficult. Chuck caught wind that Amara had been talking to Castiel and wasn’t happy. He knew he couldn’t destroy her, because he still needed her to leave this world, but she needed to know that talking to Castiel was unacceptable.

“Hey sis! How’s the gambling and yoga trip you have been on lately?” Chuck said sarcastically.

“Chuck. What are you doing here? she asked but quickly her face turned to anger. "My answer is still no. I am not helping you escape this world. You have lost your mind. You have taken advantage of your powers and are ruining lives. You have caused so much pain to so many people. Am I grateful, I am able to walk this earth, yes? Yes, I am! But I cannot condone what you are doing.”

“Let’s go someplace a little bit more private.” Chuck snapped his fingers and sent them back to Amara’s hotel room.

“There that’s better. Now we can, you know chat. Chat about the fact that you, Amara, my sister, have been talking to Castiel. The enemy in this story. How could you do that? Why would you do that? You are my sister.”

“Because you are out of control Chuck! Remember, you still locked me away. You aren’t as innocent as you want the world to think you are.” Amara replied in a very hurt voice.  
“Go ahead and say it Amara! Who you are really talking about here? You need to be honest with yourself. You couldn’t give a damn about the billions of people on this earth right now. You are only concerned with 2 people and the people they are close too. So just say it! Say it Amara!!!!”

“I know you have been talking to Castiel. Ya, that is right. I know about your meeting with him in heaven. I may not be at full power, but I still hear things. What have you told him?”

“I am not going to tell you about our conversations. But I will tell you this. Sam knows that you are behind his nightmares. He also knows that each time he collapses, that it is taking a part of his soul. You are such a coward Chuck! Haven’t these boys suffered enough?”

“Well, they are the ones that don’t want to play by the rules anymore. They made their choices and so now they will suffer the consequences. All Dean needed to do is kill Jack. That’s it. It was the perfect chapter, but no. Sam just had to figure it out. They don’t want to be the main characters in my stories anymore. If they do not want to be a part of it, then they will not be a part of it at all. It was their choice. Their choice Amara, not mine. The perfect ending is coming. It will just depend on what ending they go for. I will set it all up, but ultimately, they will make the final choice. I might throw in a few obstacles along the way, but that is it.” Chuck stated plainly so that Amara would understand.  
“This isn’t fair Chuck. They don’t deserve any of this.” Amara grabbed her jacket and walked out the door.

“No one ever said life is fair Amara!” Chuck yelled as she left.

Amara didn’t go back to the casino floor. She went back up to heaven to meet with Castiel. Even though she really didn’t have much new information, she needed to at least let him know that Chuck is on to them.

“Castiel, I don’t know how much longer I can keep coming up here to meet with you. Chuck knows that I am talking to you. I know he can’t or won’t hurt me, but he can punish Sam and Dean instead. We need to figure something out. This whole thing with Sam is just part of his plan for his final chapter.”

“Amara let me ask you a question” says Castiel. “Chuck was able to lock you away. I know it took Michael’s help, but they were able to do it. I know we can’t kill Chuck because it will disrupt the universe, but do think there is a way to put Chuck away without harming the universe? We need to figure out something. The boy’s spirits are low and can only get worse. Sam has made peace with the fact that his brother or someone that he loves will need to kill him before he hurts them. It’s the path that he is on right now. That alone is torture that no one should ever have to endure. We have to do something and soon.”

“Cass, before you go. I have something for you. It isn’t much, but I am hoping that this will at least put all of your minds at ease or at least for a little bit. I made this soul crystal. It sounds better than what it really is, but this crystal, once placed on Sam’s stomach, will glow. The stronger his soul is the brighter the light. The weaker his soul is, the glow will dim. That’s it. I’m sorry it isn’t more, but you can use it each time, Sam collapses or has a nightmare. You will at least be able to judge, how much of his soul is taken away. I wish I could tell you at what point he will start changing, but I can’t even do that. I don’t recommend you reaching in and touching his soul either. Chances are, that will weaken him as well.”

“Thank you, Amara. I don’t know what to say. I know it is dangerous for you to be helping us. I really do appreciate this.” Cass looked at her with gratitude and just like that she was gone.

CHAPTER 15  
Sam, Dean and Eileen all arrived back at the bunker. They unpacked the cars, and everyone went to their respected rooms. Dean grabbed a couple of beers and threw on his headphones. This was his way of blocking out life and being one with his own thoughts. Sam pulled out his memory chest and sat on the corner of his bed. He looked at photos and items of basically his life over the last 15 years. Somehow these things brought him comfort. Yes, they were photos of those who had died, but it also brought great memories. His life was full of pain, but he was grateful for all those who have crossed his path. Each hunt, each scenario, each death, each soul that he has faced has shaped Sam into who he is today.

Eileen just sat in her room writing in her journal. She never used to journal, but since she was given a second chance at life, it helped her cope with a stuff. Especially when Sam pushed her away. It kept her mind occupied.

Morning came and Eileen had made pancakes and eggs for the boys. The smell woke Dean up and he didn’t waste any time coming to breakfast. Sam on the other hand decided to take a shower first before heading up. Which was ok, because it gave Dean and Eileen a chance to talk a little.

“Morning Eileen! I smell bacon!” Dean said with a very big smile on his face.

“Morning Dean. Are you hungry? I hope you are because I got a little bit carried away with the amount of food I made. Eat up! Is Sam coming?”

“Ya Sam will be here. He decided to take a shower first. Then I am sure he will be right up. How’d you sleep?”

“I slept ok. What a crazy last couple of days huh?”

“Yes, it has, but we have to keep moving forward. Did you and Sam get some stuff figured out?”

“We did.” Eileen replied with a smile. “We uh, ya know”.

“Yep, I don’t need details. But, hey for what it’s worth, I am glad Sam has you and you two were able to connect finally. You both deserve to be happy because I know happy is a word that isn’t used much in our lives.”

“Sam is different from anyone I have ever been with. Not that I have had many. This hunter’s life is difficult enough than trying to have a relationship or family. It is just not in the cards. Sam gets me and I get him, well and of course you too.” She kind of giggles. “You and Sam have excepted me from the beginning, and I know you didn’t have to do that. I know I have hunted on my own for a reason. I just didn’t get along with other hunters.”

Sam came walking in the kitchen just at the right time.

“Morning. Am I interrupting anything?”

“Nope, are just discussing the fun night that you and Eileen had the other night. Way to go Sammy! I wasn’t sure if you had lost your touch, but according to Eileen, you definitely had not!”

“Dean seriously?? Eileen you were….” Sam said in full embarrassment.

“No, Sam I would never. He is just kidding” Eileen reassured. “Come sit down and have some breakfast.”

They all sat down around the table and ate the meal that Eileen fixed. There was still some awkwardness in the air, but they tried their best to get through. Then the sound of the bunker door opened, brought them out of the kitchen and into the map room. It was Cass.

“Hey Cass where have you been?” Said Dean.

“I have been in heaven. I had another meeting me Amara. She doesn’t have a lot new information other than the fact that Chuck knows we are onto him. He knows we are not going to give up without a fight either. We are working on something though. God was able to lock Amara away so that she couldn’t hurt or harm anyone. We know that we can’t kill God because it will throw off the balance of the universe. Dean we are trying to figure out a way to lock away God. It took Michael and God both to put her away. If we can find and talk to Michael again, maybe he will help us put him away too.”

“I don’t know Cass. That sound pretty impossible to me. I mean you are talking about putting God away.” Says Dean.

“I know that, but right now this is the only thing we have right now. We are not dealing with a human, demon, an angel or even arch angel for that matter. This will not be easy. We have Amara on our side, and she is going to try to find Michael. Thought it best if she did it considering the last time we met, we did not part on good terms.”

“So, do we just sit and wait. Time is not on our side right now Cass” Sam said in a very concerned voice.

“Right now, yes Sam. I’d say you all need to go about your business. Go on hunts, do your research and whatever else you seem fit.”

“Oh, and Amara gave something to me” Said Cass as he reached into his pocket and pulled out something wrapped in a piece of cloth.

Sam spoke up “What is it Cass?”

Castiel unwrapped the crystal and laid it flat in his hand.

“Amara made a soul crystal. She said that it will show the strength of a person’s soul. The brighter the glow the stronger the soul. The dimmer the glow, the weaker the soul.”

Sam, Dean and Eileen looked surprised and under sure of what to think of the crystal. Sam spoke up with a few questions.  
“Cass, so can this crystal tell me how much time I have? Is it going to tell me when exactly I will stop caring about, you know life?”

“I’m sorry Sam, no. It will not tell us any other than what I said it will do. I figured we can use it now and basically set like a baseline. Then each time, Chuck sends you a vision or you collapse, we will use it again afterwards to see how much it has changed.”

Eileen grabbed Sam’s hand and just squeezed. It wasn’t going to give them all the answers that they were looking for, but it is better than nothing. It gave them a little bit of peace knowing how far along Sam was progressing.

They all went down to Sam’s room and he laid on the bed. Eileen continued to hold his hand. Sam closed his eyes and tried to relax as much as possible. Castiel placed the crystal on Sam’s stomach. It took what seemed to be an eternity to start to glow, but it did glow. The glow was not really bright, but still bright enough that they didn’t think that Sam had lost enough of his soul to make a difference in him. This brought great relief to Dean and Eileen. But also, to Sam. Knowing that he is still himself, made him feel just a little bit more comfortable in his own skin.

Sam got up and Castiel safely put the crystal away. They all felt just a little bit better for the time being. Sam and Eileen went up to the library to start researching ways to possible lock God away. Dean started looking for cases. Dean definitely needed to get out to take his mind off of Chuck. Problem is he didn’t want to hunt without Sam, but he knew Sam was right and had no business being out there hunting.

Chapter 16  
A week went by with nothing found in the books on how to lock Chuck up. Dean caught a case close by and took it on his own. Castiel checked in on them every day but was doing his own research. Sam hadn’t had any nightmares, nor had he collapsed.

“Sam lets go out for a bite to eat or go to a park or something. I need to get out of here and so do you. We have been in here for a week now. Please, come with me and get some fresh air.” Eileen pleaded with Sam.

“I hear you Eileen. You are right. I think both need to get some fresh air and clear our heads.”

They both went out and spent the day together. They took a walk in the park and just talked. They enjoyed each other company. She even taught Sam some new sign language. Sam loves to learn new signs and it usually ends up in a lot of laughter. This is something they both needed and deserved. Hopefully it would give them the boost of energy needed to find how to stop Chuck.

Sam and Eileen came home well after dark. The night air was crisp but very fresh, so they stayed out later. Dean had come home earlier in the evening and was 6 beers into the evening and sound asleep in his room.

Sam went his room and got ready for bed. He just had crawled in when there was knock at his door. It was Eileen.

“Is something wrong Eileen?”

“I don’t want to be alone tonight. Is it ok if I stay with you? If you don’t want me to that is fine, I just thought I would ask.”

“Um, ya sure. You can come in.” Sam scooted to the end of the bed, which was going to seem even smaller. He wrapped his arms around her, and she laid her head on his arm. He held her very tight. Tight enough that whatever fear she was feeling was now gone. “Good night Sam”. Sam kissed the back of her head and he knew she couldn’t hear him, he signed in her hand Good Night.

It was about 3:45am when Sam shot straight up out of bed. It was like he didn’t know where he was. He looked around but couldn’t see anything because it was dark. Sam reached over to turn on the bedside light. Eileen was lying next to him, but something seemed very wrong. He tried to wake her up, but it wasn’t working.

“Eileen! Eileen! Come one, you need to open your eyes for me! Eileen!” Sam yelled frantically.

Dean came running in after hearing all the commotion from down the hall.

“Sam what is going on in here?”

“Dean, something is wrong! She isn’t moving!”

Dean went to the side of the bed and checked for a pulse. He was not successful in finding one. Dean rolled her over to try to figure out what might have happened. As he rolled her over a pool of blood covered the sheets up around her head. There was about a 3-inch cut from the back of her neck to the front. Her artery was slit causing Eileen to bleed to death.

Dean slowly got up and stepped back. He was staring at Sam. Sam was in disbelief at this point. Then he looked at his hands and saw them covered in blood. Had Sam just killed the woman that he loved? Was Sam changing faster than he knew? Then he looked up at Dean. There, he saw Dean pointing a gun in his direction. BANG!!!

Just like that Sam shot up out of bed. Eileen nearly jumped out of her skin. “Sam, Sam look at me what is wrong? Sam!”

Sam looked at Eileen and hugged her very tight. He was struggling to catch his breath. This was the worst nightmare Sam had suffered through yet. Not only had Dean killed Sam, but Sam killed Eileen. This made Sam panic even more. Eileen ran out of the room leaving Sam on the side of the bed still trying to catch his breath. She went to get Dean for help. Eileen pounded on the door as hard as she could. “Dean! Dean! Wake up Dean!!!

“What is it? Is it Sam?”

Eileen shook her head and they headed down the hall and there stood Sam in the doorway to his room. He was still struggling to breath. “I killed her Dean. I did it with my own two hands.” Tears were free flowing down his cheeks.

“Sam, what are you talking about? Who did you kill? Sam, come on snap out of this!”

Just as Dean placed his hand on Sam’s shoulder, Sam went to the ground. He went down hard too, smacking his head on the hard-concrete floor. Sam was grasping for air to get into his lungs. This time was worse than any other time. The wheezing from Sam really scared them both. Every muscle in his body was tense and Dean tried his best to calm Sam down, but it was becoming a very difficult task. Sam kept trying to just roll into a ball on his side, but this was causing his breathing to become worse. If something didn’t let loose soon, Sam would either pass out or die because he suffocated himself. This was lasting way to long.

Then moments later, Sam’s whole body went limp. His clenched fists released. His shoulders relaxed and though he was still breathing fast, it was without effort. Dean rolled him onto his back so that he could check him over better. Sam looked up at his big brother just for a moment before he closed his eyes. There was a pretty big bump on the side of Sam’s head. There was no blood but was definitely swelling up a bit. Dean was going to have to keep an eye on Sam to make sure that he didn’t have a concussion.  
Dean with the help of Eileen managed to get Sam back into his room laying on his bed. Castiel appeared with the soul crystal after Dean had called him. Dean was worried that since this episode was a lot worse, that it drained a lot more of his soul. He had to know.

Cass placed the crystal on Sam, and it seemed to take longer for it to work but eventually it did glow. The news was not good because there was a definite change in the glow. The glow was a lot dimmer. Sam Winchester was beginning to lose his soul. The race against time to stop God has begun.  
Sam slept longer than normally did. It concerned Dean, but at the same time, he knew Sam needed his rest. Eileen was right by his side as Sam began to stir. He opened his eyes and slowly looked around. He saw Eileen sitting by his side and Dean tucked away in the corner. Something felt different but he didn’t know what it was. Sam did however feel the extreme pounding of his head.

“Sam, hey! How are you feeling?” Eileen whispered.

Dean rushed over and sat on the corner of Sam’s bed. Sam sat up and leaned against the headboard. Still trying to piece together what happened. Then he remembered the dream.

“My dream. My dream was different this time. I mean, Dean still killed me but only because I killed someone. I umm”. Sam stumbled.

“What is it Sam? Who did you kill?” Dean asked.

“I woke up in my bed and there was blood everywhere. I looked down at my hands and they were just covered. And then I saw this other person lying in bed with me. Her throat had been slit and stabbed a few times I think.”

“You said she, Sam.” Dean questioned.

Even though he knew who Sam was probably going to say, he was hoping he wouldn’t. Sam looked up at Dean and then to Eileen.

“It was you Eileen. You were laying in my bed covered in blood, dead. I, I, I think I killed you. Dean you must have heard me or something because you came barging into my room and you saw Eileen dead. You pulled out your gun and without question, pulled the trigger. That’s when I woke up.”

They all just looked at one other in silence. Eileen squeezed Sam’s hand even more.

“Sam, we need to talk for a minute. When you collapsed, whatever it is that you go through, you went through it longer than usual. It seemed more intense this time. Not to mention that you smacked your head pretty hard when you hit the floor. After your body gave out and you went to sleep, Cass brought me the soul crystal.” Dean looked up at Sam, just hoping that he knew where he was going with this conversation.

“My soul is fading isn’t it, Dean? You don’t need to say it, I can tell by both your faces. We knew this was going to happen. You know what you both need to do right? It’s time. We can’t afford to take any chances at this point. This is what we all talked about and you both promised that when the time came, you would kill me”.

“Sam, stop right now! Yes, you are losing your soul, but we are not at that point yet. We still have time. It may not be much, but there is still some time to get this figured out. And as much as I don’t want to do what you want me to do, I did promise.” Dean reluctantly said to Sam.

“I am not giving up on you either Sam.” Said Eileen. “Just because you had that dream, doesn’t mean that it is going to happen. I still believe in you Sam. You still have a lot more good inside of you to fight off the soulless side of you. I am not going to leave because of this, and you will not make me go either.”

“I understand what you both are saying. I don’t want you to think I am giving up already, but you both also don’t seem to understand how afraid I am to lose my soul again. I just can’t or I refuse to go through that again. Please, please understand what I am saying.” Sam pleaded.

Sam collected some things and decided to leave the bunker for a little bit. He needed to clear his head. The nightmare really messed with him. The reality is that he could really hurt Eileen. What if Chuck has brought her into the final story. What if what Chuck just showed him, is how everything is supposed to end. Sam couldn’t live with that.

CHAPTER 17  
Dean caught on to a case and invited Eileen to go with. Sam didn’t feel it was a good idea for him to go but told them to keep him posted and to call if they needed help. With all that was going on, it was good for them to both get out for a while.

Sam made a few laps around the local park. It’s what he does when he needs to clear his head. He needed to be focused if he was going to be helpful for hunts.  
On the way back to the bunker, Dean called.

“Hey, I need you to track a white Toyota Highlander. Can you check the traffic cams to see what direction they might be heading,” said Dean.

“Ya sure. What are you tracking?” asked Sam.

“Some high class vamps! These are definitely not your low class, trashy vampires. These are like tv pretty vamps. They are luring in pretty women. They hold them for ransom, then their families pay up. Then for what we can tell, a day or two later they track then down again and drain them. Might actually turn a couple of them here and there, but mostly they just to kill them.”

“I will let you know when I find something. I will call you back in a couple minutes!” Sam said as he quickly returned to the bunker and hopped on the laptop pulling up all the camera footage.

After a few minutes Sam was able to find the vehicle Dean was looking for. It was hanging out downtown and for now not making any stops. This was good because it meant there were no killings. Bad because it was hard for him to keep track of the vehicle. Dean just seem to be about 3 or 4 minutes behind the information Sam was able to provide to them.

All of a sudden Sam’s mood just changed. He was watching the video footage, but instead of being on the lookout, he was just watching for enjoyment. This was very dangerous, because the vampires discovered that Eileen and Dean were on their trail. Sam should be warning thing them of this information, but he isn’t. Sam was seeing it but wasn’t concerned what was going on. The vampires were closing in on them both and fast. Dean and Eileen were hanging out in the parking lot waiting for Sam to call back.  
Suddenly Sam snaps out of it and realizes what is happening. He quickly calls Dean.

“Dean you need to get out there fast! Now!! They are headed right for…. Dean!!! Are you there? Dean! Dean!”  
The vampires appeared on both sides of the car, pulling them both out. They were getting tossed around, but were fighting hard. Dean needed to get into the backseat to get the machetes. He fought off his attacker and was able to stab it with his knife dipped in dead man’s blood. It wasn’t much but gave him enough time to get the machetes. He needed to move quick. Eileen is holding on but wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep it up.

Dean got the machetes and just as he turned around, the vampire was back on his tail. Slamming Dean up against the car causing him to drop the machete. Eileen managed to grab the other one and wounded her attacker enough to chop its head. She ran to the other side of the car to find Dean pinned to the ground. Just like that, she took one swipe and the vampire’s head went a rolling.

“Thank you! Oh my God thank you! Ok wrong choice of words, but thank you,” said Dean.

Eileen signed back to Dean “You’re welcome”.

Dean called Sam who was pacing back and for in the bunker.

“Hey Sam! We are good. We managed to kill two of them, but I think there are more out here. They are gone at the moment. What happened? I thought you were tracking them?”

“I was and then I lost them for a several minutes. I don’t know where they went. Are you both ok? Sam asked.

“Ya for the most part. We will clean up this mess and will head back to the bunker.”

Sam was waiting for them to return. He was unsure of what had transpired. Maybe it was the concussion that made him black out or something. How was he going to explain this to Dean?

Dean and Eileen got back to the bunker a few hours later. Sam was on about his 4th beer at that point. Eileen gave him a hug. She had vampire blood all over her face and hair. She had scratches on her face and arms where she fought off her attackers. Dean didn’t look much better.

“Sam, what's with the beer?” signed Eileen. “Are you ok? Did something happen here?”

“I, I don’t know to be honest. I don’t remember exactly. It’s my fault you both were attacked. I was watching the traffic cams and I was following the vehicle. Then I don’t know, all of sudden they were right there, and you got attacked! Dean you both could have been killed all because of me!”.

“Sam you need to calm down. Everything is fine. It doesn’t matter now.” Eileen pleaded to Sam. Why don’t you come with me and we will go get some rest?”

“No, you go ahead. I’m not tired right now. I am just going to stay up do some reading or something. I don’t, I just, I’m just not tired.” Sam said quietly. “Dean you go too. You don’t need to say up and keep me company. You both had a big day. I will be ok. Really.”

Dean and Eileen headed off to their bedrooms. They were both worried about Sam and what happened tonight. Was it the concussion or what it the fact that Sam has lost a chunk of his soul that made what happened tonight happen? Sam stayed awake most of the night trying to answer that very question but came up with no conclusions.

CHAPTER 18  
Dean woke up early and found Sam sound a sleep in the library. His head resting on a couple of books. Dean saw Sam’s laptop open to the traffic cams he was watching last night. He decided to look back through the video to see maybe he could figure out how Sam lost the trail until it was almost to late.  
He went through exactly what Sam saw and he didn’t understand how Sam said he lost the vehicle. He had followed that vehicle the whole time all the way up to the time that Sam called Dean on the phone. What had Sam been so preoccupied that he said he lost it. Dean felt a pit in his stomach. I think he knew what Sam had already presumed. This was because he had lost part of his soul. This could be the start of a very big problem. Dean didn’t know how much longer Sam was going to be able to be trusted. He isn’t going to be able to leave Sam alone at all. Castiel needs to get this plan going and going quickly. Time is not on their side anymore.

Dean put his hand on Sam’s shoulder to wake him up. “Come on Sam, it’s time to wake up.”

Sam woke up rubbing his head and eyes. “Hey Dean. Sorry, I guess I fell asleep in here. I haven’t been asleep long because I remember looking at the clock at about 4:00am.”

“Why don’t you go grab some extra shut eye then? Said Dean.

“No, I’m fine. I actually feel pretty good. My head feels better than it did yesterday. I still don’t understand what happened last night, but I’m feeling pretty good.”

“That’s good Sam. Glad to hear it”. Dean said reluctantly. He didn’t really know if he should believe him or not, but what choice did he have. Dean knew that he just needed to keep a closer eye on him from here on out. Sam wasn’t going to be able to be left alone if at all possible.

Eileen eventually came upstairs. After a rough night last night, she decided to sleep in and then take a nice long hot bath. It helped make all the cuts and scrapes not so horrible on her face and arms. They hurt a little, but nothing she couldn’t handle. She was concerned about Sam, but she knew if he wanted to talk about it, he would.

“Morning boys! How are things?”

“Morning Eileen”, Sam said. “Oh Eileen, I am so sorry about last night. I hope you were not hurt too bad.” with a concerned look on his face. 

“No, I’m fine Sam. It’s ok. They look worse than they are. Besides, what is hunting with out bumps, bruises and cuts.” Eileen reassured Sam.

Dean’s phone rang. It was Cass. He needed to talk with Dean but thought it was best if he talked to him without Sam around. They didn’t know how much Chuck could tune in on. The last thing they needed was for Chuck to get more leverage. Cass didn’t feel right about leaving Sam out, but it is what needed to be done and to keep everyone safe.

“Hey, ah Cass wants me to come check something out with him. While I am out, I will pick up some more supplies. We can't seem to keep food in this house these days.”  
“Just give us a couple minutes Dean and we will come with you," Sam said.

“No Sam I think that you should stay here. It’s not that I don’t want you to come with, but we don’t exactly know how much Chuck will hear with you around. Nothing seems much of a secret anymore. You and Eileen can just hang out or go for a drive or something. Get out and get some fresh air. I won’t be gone for long. Then I’d say we should grill up some steaks and drink until we can drink no more.” Dean said with a huge smile on his face, but really deep down is hesitant.

“Really Dean? So, I guess now you don’t trust me, and you don't want to leave me alone anymore. I am to much of a risk to go and talk with Cass with you! You know it's hard enough I can’t go out on hunts!: Sam said in anger. 

"You know why don’t you just pull the trigger now and get it over with. I am useless to any of you!" Sam quickly turned his back and walked out "Just go and meet with Cass! I don’t care anymore!” 

Dean gathered a few things and left to meet with Cass. He hoped that Eileen would be able to calm down Sam.

CHAPTER 19  
Dean and Cass met at an old warehouse about 50 miles away from Lebanon. Cass had been talking with Amara and was able to locate Michael finally. God needed Michael to lock Amara away and he was hoping after having a long talk with Michael he would be willing to help lock their father away. There was a plan coming together finally, but it was going to be a one-shot deal. It could go a million ways wrong, but they needed to do something. The unfortunate thing about the whole situation was that Sam was going to have to be used as bait. He was going to have to put his life on the line with out really knowing what the plan was. 

Castiel told Dean about the plan they had put together so far. There were other details that needed to get worked out, but they knew it was going to have to be sooner rather than later. They needed Sam to be as much of himself to make this work. There is a huge concern that if Sam loses to much of his soul, then he will go rouge and the plan would be almost impossible to make possible. This really concerned Dean. No matter how much of Sam’s soul he had or didn’t have, this was putting his brother in a lot of danger. Dean did not want to lose his brother no matter what.

CHAPTER 20  
Back at the bunker Sam was still in his room and Eileen was just sitting just outside his door. She wanted to go in, but knew Sam needed his space. So, she just sat outside his door. Even though she couldn’t hear anything that was going on inside his room, she was hoping that he was ok and would come out eventually.

A couple of hours had gone by and Eileen curled up on the floor and taken a nap. She was woken by Sam ever so slightly shaking her.

“Hey, what are you doing out here? You ok? Oh, wait, let me guess, you were keeping an eye on me.” Sam said in a condescending way as he started walking away from her. 

  
“No that is not why I am here Sam!" She shouted. "I am worried about you. Last night scared me and I know you would never do anything that would jeopardize what Dean and I were doing during on purpose. You were clearly very angry this morning. I sat here so that I knew, if you needed anything, I would be there for you. I can’t tell you more than I already have how much you mean to me Sam. I know this whole ordeal is extremely difficult for you. You are probably thinking that you are losing all your independence and that no one will trust you. I know you want to help, but unfortunately it is putting everyone at risk and that has you so frustrated right now that you just want to give up. I want to help you Sam and it is killing me inside that I can’t take away your pain or all that you are worrying about. Guess, what Sam Winchester, I am afraid too! I am afraid that I am going to lose you and there is nothing I can do about it except sleep outside your door!” Eileen screaming as loud as she possibly could with tears rolling down her face.

Sam knelt down in front of her and wrapped his arms around her. He held her as tight as he possibly could in hopes of calm her down. This whole situation was difficult for everyone. Eileen was shaking a lot. One thing was clear at this very moment to Sam. He had not lost enough of his soul to stop caring about Eileen. All he wanted to do was hold her and comfort her. Even Sam’s eyes began to well up with tears. He leaned up against the wall and continued to hold Eileen tight to his chest. She could feel his heartbeat and it helped her calm down. They both just held each other there outside his room and on the cold floor. That didn’t seem to matter at this point because at that very moment, there was nothing in the world that mattered except what they were feeling together. Eventually they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Dean arrived back to the bunker about an hour later. He found Sam and Eileen sitting on the floor still holding each other. For a brief moment Dean felt happy. The happiest he has felt in a very long time. A part of himself didn’t want to wake them up and against better judgment took a picture of them. He knew Sam would be mad, but he didn’t care. He wanted to print it and give one to both of them. That way when things were getting hard, they could maybe go back and look at the photo and remember this moment when nothing else mattered.

Dean decided to wake them up. It was going to be an all hands-on deck tonight making dinner. Dean grilled up the steaks. Sam was making up the salad and Eileen was cutting up and cooking the vegetables. This was probably the biggest meal they had had since their Dad was back and they had a big family dinner. They didn’t know how many more nights they might have of this, so they wanted to take advantage of every moment.

The rest of the evening they laughed and told old hunting stories. They drank several beers and then eventually switched over to whiskey. Which made everything even more funny. 

The conversation turned over to what Dean and Castiel had spoken about. Sam was hoping that Dean had enough alcohol in him that he would talk more about the plan, but he did not say to much, only that there was a plan. In the morning, Dean was going to call Jody, Donna and the girls to see if they could come to Lebanon. It was time to start putting things in play. 

  
They pretty much drank everything Dean had bought. In fact, Dean was on the verge of passing out, so Sam helped him to his room to sleep it off. Eileen knew when to say when and headed to bed about 30 minutes earlier. Dean had left a copy of the photo on her nightstand. She stared at the photo until she closed her eyes. Sam should have been just as tired but he wasn't. Maybe it was the small nap he had earlier but really, he hadn’t slept much the last couple of nights. This made Sam worry a little bit because if made him remember that he didn’t sleep at all when he didn’t have a soul. Reality was sitting in once again.

Sam wandered most of the night. Eventually he made it back to his room where he found the photo that Dean took. For a split second, he was mad that he took it, but then quickly changed his mind. He stood it up on the corner of his nightstand against the lamp so that he could see it. Sam closed his eyes and drifted off into a deep slumber even if it was only for a couple of hours.

CHAPTER 21  
The next morning Dean was up early so he could make the phone calls. They were not going to let the boys go through any of this alone. Even Claire and Alex were coming too. He also called Cass to let him know that everyone was on their way.

By the late afternoon, everyone had arrived. It felt good to have everybody at the bunker for the first time. It gave Dean a sense of hope and possibility that they may actually win. Everyone knew that they needed to be careful about what they talked about when Sam was around. The energy in the bunker was running high and positive.

Eileen and Sam decided to go out for a walk, just the two of them to get some fresh air. They didn't always need to talk to know what each other was thinking or feeling, but they held one another’s hands. The night air was crisp and rain clouds were beginning to form, but that didn’t bother the two of them.  
Heavy rains began to fall. Sam and Eileen started to head back to the bunker because they were soaked down to the bone. The rain never let up and the road up to the bunker though was very steep was extremely muddy and was making it very difficult to walk through. Every step they took, they seem to sink about 3 or 4 inches into fresh mud. They were almost to the bunker, laughing at each other each time they slipped trying to get up the road. Eileen was just a few steps ahead of Sam. She looked back to make sure Sam was still on her heals and then the laughing immediately stopped. There she saw Sam laying on the ground.

“Sam! Sam!! No!!!” Eileen screamed. She frantically tried to make her way back to Sam. “Stay with me! Do you hear me?”

Sam curled up into his ball with every last muscle in his body tense. So tense, that there was nothing that could pull him from the state his was in. Eileen knew she needed to go for help, but didn’t want to leave Sam. She didn’t have her phone on her and Sam’s phone was in his front pocket of his pants and there was no way she was going to be able get to it. She was hoping Sam would snap out of it, but these episodes were lasting longer and longer, and she needed to get him out of this rain and out of the mud.  
Eileen couldn’t wait any longer. Sam was in trouble and she needed to get him some help. She crawled up the rest of the road to the bunker door. Stumbled in the door and yelled for Dean.

“Dean! Dean! Dean, I need help!” Eileen cried.

“What is it? Where is Sam? Dean said worriedly.

“Sam collapsed just down the road a little. I can’t move him. It’s lasting longer than usual. Dean help me get Sam inside, please!”

Dean, Jody and Donna all went outside to help with Sam. Claire and Alex went down to the infirmary to get a bed ready. They got some warming blankets and other supplies ready too.

Sam was still balled up in the mud barely moving, but still struggling to take in air. They had to get him out of element and fast. He was still in a lot of pain. They tried everything they could to try to move Sam, but it was impossible. It would have been difficult under normal circumstances because Sam is a big boy, but with the rain and the mud made it impossible. 

  
Alex and Claire ran up to see if they could be of any assistance. Sam was still down and not coherent and until his body relaxes, they will not be able to get him up. Alex ran back down to her medical bag and brought up an injection that had a pain killer in it. She really didn’t want to give it to him, but she hoped it would help him relax.  
They removed part of Sam’s shirt so that Alex could give Sam the injection. It was very concerning because Sam was already struggling to breathe, and this could either help or hinder it.

Within about a minute, Sam began to relax a bit. His breathing slowed down; his body wasn’t so ridged. Now they need to keep him awake because they are going to need him to help them get him into the bunker and down the steps once inside.

“Sam, can you hear me? Come on buddy, I need you to open your eyes and focus on me.” As Dean softly slapped Sam on the sides of his face.

Sam kept trying to open his eyes but was struggling. He just wanted to close them and go to sleep. Dean sat him up and helped him get his bearings. The rain had finally let up. Donna got on one side of Sam and Dean was on the other. The sleepy giant was still hard to navigate. They had to hold onto his belt loops to keep him upright. Slowly, they got him up to the bunker doors and now they had to get him down the steps with dropping him.

They quickly learned that all three off them were not going to fit on the stairway side by side. Sam was not stable enough to go down the steps with just one other person and Dean just made the decision that he was going to fireman carry Sam down the stairs and to the infirmary. Sam was a good 3 inches taller than Dean, but this is the only way they were going to get Sam safely down the steps. It was not a pretty sight watching Dean toss Sam over his shoulder. In fact, it took two tries for it to even happen. Dean got him up and quickly but carefully carried Sam down the bunker stairs and straight to the infirmary. He laid him down on the bed and got him situated. Alex and Jody took over from there. Eileen went to her room to get cleaned up and in dryer clothes.

They got Sam out of his wet clothes and wrapped in warm blankets. Alex started an IV to get some fluids into him. Other than that Sam just needed to get some rest. The biggest question was though, how much more of Sam’s soul was taken tonight.

Dean went to his room to get the crystal. His stomach was in knots because he knew the results were not going to be good. He knew they are really on borrowed time at this point and they may need to move forward quicker than planned. Dean took a deep breath and headed back to the infirmary.

Sam was resting quietly. Eileen was once again by his side. Jody, Donna, Alex and Claire were hanging back in the corner waiting for Dean to return. They all love Sam and knew that Dean was going to need a lot more support. Time was not on their side.

Dean walked in with the crystal in hand and headed over to the side of Sam’s bed. He pulled up a chair and sat down. He slid down the blankets that were covering Sam to keep him warm. Dean then placed the crystal on Sam’s stomach. They all eagerly waited for the crystal to start to glow. It took quite a while for it to glow, but it finally did. The glow however was anything but bright. It was probably half of what it was the last time.

Dean just sat there and stared at the crystal. He could feel himself become very anxious. Eileen held her head low. Jody came up behind Dean and wrapped her arms around him. Donna and the girls did the same thing. Dean did everything he could to hold back the tears, but the tears came down one by one. Dean was losing his brother.

CHAPTER 22  
Sam was going to be out for another few hours. Everyone but Eileen went up to the kitchen to talk. She didn’t want to take a chance of Sam waking up alone.  
Dean called Cass and told him about Sam. He told him that they needed to start moving forward because Sam wasn’t going to be Sam much longer.

Sam began to stir around but not from waking up from the sedation, but because he was having a nightmare.  
“No, please no! Take me, take me instead!” Sam mumbled. His breathing quickened and he began tossing his head back and forth. “Leave him alone!”  
Over the next few minutes, Sam became very agitated. Tears were coming down his face. Sam was sobbing and shaking and still begging whoever he was seeing in his dream to stop.

Alex came back down to help Eileen. Dean couldn’t watch his brother go through this anymore. Something needed to be done.  
Eventually Sam began to calm down. He opened his eyes briefly and saw Eileen and Alex. Problem was that what Eileen saw in Sam’s eyes was stone cold. He wasn’t scared or worried. Sam looked around the room at his surroundings and then closed his eyes once more.

Alex convinced Eileen to come back upstairs with her and get something to eat. Sam would probably be out for a little bit longer. She needed to get some food in her and also have a chance to catch up with everyone else.

They all sat around the kitchen. The plan was discussed as to what needed to happen. Cass and Amara also came by briefly to answer any questions and to see how everyone was feeling. Dean was not comfortable with really any part of the plan. He considered all of it a no-win situation. He even began to think to himself what if what they were all doing was for selfish reasons. Maybe he should just cave in and continue to be Chuck’s puppet on a string.

“Y’all, how do we know if we are doing the right thing? I am not comfortable with any part of this because I feel that in the end, sacrifices will be made. I know something bad is going to happen. Not to mention, my brother, who is already suffering from all of this. What if Sam is so far gone already that there is no saving him.” Dean pleaded with everyone.

They all just sat in silence. Most of their heads hung low. Jody got up and stood behind Dean and just wrapped her arms around him. Dean had spent most of his life not showing emotion to anyone that he was scared or afraid of anything. Sam had seen it a couple of times, but even then, Dean had held it back. This was the first time Dean just broke.

CHAPTER 23  
Down in the infirmary, Sam was showing signs waking up. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and tried to gather his thoughts. He saw the IV attached to his arm and just pulled it out. Blood trickled down his arm a bit, but it did not even seem to faze him. Sam snuck up to his room and put on some fresh clothes. Then he packed a few things into his backpack and headed to the garage. He was going to leave the bunker without saying anything to anyone. Sam was on a mission to find Chuck and to end all of this.  
Dean heard the faint sound of the doors being closed in the garage. He quickly got up and ran to the garage only to see the taillights of Baby leaving. Dean ran after him as fast as he could, but it was too late. Sam was gone. All the ladies ran down to the garage to find out what was going on.

“Sam’s gone. He just left in the Impala. We need to do something and do something now. I don’t know what Sam is planning on doing, but he is up to something. We need to find him!”

Everyone teamed up and took off looking for Sam. Dean and Eileen teamed up and Jody with Donna and Claire and Alex. Sam turned off the GPS on his phone and the low jack on the Impala was disabled months ago.

Dean and an idea of where Sam might go. It’s quiet and secluded, but it’s where Sam would go when he needed to clear his head and to be alone. There was a small lake about an hour outside of Lebanon. You had to walk about a half mile just to get it. There was a long dock with a bench at the end of it that stretched out into the lake. All you could was hear was the birds, the trees and the water. Dean was really hoping that is where he went. He just needed a break from everyone.

They drove around for a while and finally Eileen spotted the Impala. Dean was right, though it wasn’t were Sam went directly, it is where he ended up. They didn’t want Sam to know that they were there, so they decided to leave Eileen’s car about a ¼ of a mile up the road and cut across on a different path.  
Sam was out on the dock, but he was not there to enjoy in the sun or just sit there to clear his head. Sam was there to try to contact God. He needed to talk to him. He wanted to put an end to all this madness.

He pulled out an angel blade and sat it next to him. He unbuttoned his shirt and took out his left arm exposing the wound on his shoulder. He knew what he needed to do but it was not going to be easy and it will definitely be more painful for Sam than it would be for Chuck. He was just in hopes that he could annoy Chuck enough to get him to appear.  
Sam took the angel blade and started digging it into his shoulder. He just kept trying to breath through the pain, but it was very difficult. Blood began running down his chest. He twisted and turned the blade slowly.

“Let’s go Chuck! I’m not stopping until you show your face. We need talk now! Come on you coward!” Sam shouted.

He started to double over from all the pain, but he kept going. Dean heard him yelling off into the distance. He turned to Eileen and told her they needed to pick it up.

“No! No, no, no, no, no! Sam don’t you dare! We need to get moving. Sam is trying to summon God!” Dean said as he picked up their pace.

Sam was now down on one knee, barely holding it together. Then behind him, Chuck appeared. He pushed Sam forward a little to make him stop.

“That’s enough Sam! I’m here. You want to talk, let’s talk. You have maybe 2- or 3-minutes tops. Your brother and girlfriend will be here and then I’m out here.”

Sam got up and turned to face him. Blood still trickling down his chest. He took a handkerchief out of his back pocket and put it over the wound.

“What is it that you want Chuck? What will make you stop all of this? Let’s deal. No more games.” Sam pleaded to him.

“Hold on Sam. First of all, you need to calm down and two, you need to put the blade down. You know, I don’t know what you are all upset about. You and your brother are getting just what you asked for. You don’t want to be a part of the story anymore, so I am writing your final chapters. I have been good to you boys and this is the thanks I get. Ya, sure you lost some of the people you cared about or even loved, but you have to admit. What a ride you have been on. All that has happened to you wasn’t because of me. You both took parts in your own path. I just guided you. Most of the stuff you did was your own choice. Sam, as much as you want to, you cannot blame me for everything that has happened in your life. Deep down I think you know that.”

“Then why are you doing all of this. Why can’t you just let us be. Let us die however we are supposed to die.” Sam said. “Why are you taking my soul? Why are you torturing us? Haven’t we suffered enough?”

Dean called the rest of the women to let them know where they were and to get there as soon as they could. Eileen moved closer but made sure that she could still stay out of sight.

Chuck snapped his fingers and Eileen appear on the dock right behind Chuck with her hands tied in front of her and gagged. She stood between Chuck and water. He had her trapped behind him, this gave him leverage to make sure Sam didn’t try anything stupid.

“Eileen! Let her go now! I mean it, you need to let her go. She has nothing to do with is.” Sam said in a very stern voice.

“You see that is where you are wrong, Sam. She is a part of this story too. I am the one that made sure you found that spell of Rowena’s. Yes, her spirit found you, but Eileen becoming human again, that was all me. You are welcome.”

Sam lunged towards Chuck ready to kill. Chuck put his arm out and stopped Sam in his tracks. Eileen was trying to scream through the gag wrapped around her head, but her screams were muffled.

“Now, I will let you go, but only if you stand down Sam.”

Sam shook his head yes, but his eyes never left Chuck. He did not trust him at all but Chuck did let him go.

“Here is the deal Chuck. I need you to listen and listen well. You are taking my soul. I am not going to go back to be that person again, so really, I feel I am left with one option. Before you take any more of my soul and before I hurt someone that I care about, I want you to just take me now. You can torture me all you want until you are satisfied and then you can kill me. Leave Dean alone. Let him live out the rest of his life. No one else needs to suffer.” Sam pleads.

“NO Sam! That is not an option. Chuck you get a way from him right now!” Dean yelled.

“Dean, this is not up to you. This is my decision. Now get back before you get hurt!” Sam yelled,

Chuck just stood there with a big smile on his face. This is what he loved. He would have been perfectly happy if Dean killed Sam or Sam killed Dean, but now is not the time. Chuck however needed to prove a point and they all needed to understand that he means business.

“Come on Sam, lets go! Just walk by him and get Eileen and let’s go. The rest of the cavalry will be here momentarily.” Dean commanded.

“No, Dean. This has to end. This is our only option. If I’m gone, then you can go live your life. You know I will never be fully me again. I have lost enough of my soul that; I can’t be saved.”

“Sam! Dean!” Jody yelled.

“Everybody, just stay back” yelled Sam. “I need all of you to just go and let me do this”.

Everyone just froze where they stood. Chuck was still enjoying all the monolog, but enough was enough. It was time to make things interesting. It was time to get out of there.

“It’s been nice chatting with all of you amazing people, but it’s time for me to go. I’m sure we will be meeting up again very soon.”

Sam bent down and picked up the angel blade. He knew he couldn’t kill God, but at least he would feel better if he could just wound him again. He was hoping that maybe, just maybe he would piss off God enough that he would take Sam with him. He took a couple steps forward towards Chuck. Then Chuck took a couple steps back. Eileen didn’t move because she had nowhere else to go. She made herself into a barrier to hopefully prevent Chuck from going back any further. She made eye contact with Sam and gave a little nod. But then worst thing that could have happened, happened.

Sam lunged forward to stab Chuck with the angel blade and Chuck at the last moment disappeared into thin air. Sam couldn’t stop himself in time and the blade went right into Eileen’s gut. She bled instantly. Sam tried to catch her before she fell backwards into the water, but the only thing he was able to grab a hold of was the blade. She fell back into the water still gagged, with her hands tied and now bleeding. Sam’s body immediately went into shock. He dropped to his knees and just stared into the water. Dean, Jody and Donna came barreling down the dock and dove into the water. They had to find Eileen before it was to late. It was a windy day which made the current stronger than normal. Alex stayed with Sam and Claire ran back to the car to get some supplies to help save Eileen’s life.

Sam was overwhelmed with what was happening. Seeing Dean, Jody and Donna coming up for air, but never coming up with Eileen. The fear was too much for him to handle. Did he just kill the woman that he loved?

Dean came up for air once more, but this time he had Eileen. Her body was lifeless. She was clearly not breathing and it had been a good 4 or 5 minutes since she went into the water. Donna tried to help Dean stay afloat so that Alex and Jody could lift her out of the water. Between not having footing, being exhausted and the water adding extra weight, they were not able to get Eileen out of the water. Dean ended up having to swim to shore. Alex and Claire helped bring her in. Jody cut her hands free and cut the gag off her mouth.

Sam continued to stand there in shock. He turned around and looked out over the lake. Sam looked over his shoulder and watched everyone trying to save Eileen’s life, but he knew it was to late. Dean was watching him from the shore.

“Sammy, don’t you do it! Sammy, stay where you are. I am coming over ok!”

Just in that instant Sam stepped off the dock into the lake. He was hoping that no one would have noticed and he would have just sank down to the bottom. Dean again ran down the dock and dove in. This time he had to save Sam’s life. Luckily Dean was able to retrieve Sam on the first try, but Sam was fighting him the whole time. He dragged him to the shoreline and Sam got up swinging. He landed a few against Dean’s face, but Dean fought back. They both were making each other bloody.  
Then Chuck appeared once again. He touched Dean’s forehead sending him to the ground fast and hard. Chuck then touched Sam and they both disappeared. God and disappeared into thin air.

Chapter 24  
About 15 minutes later, Dean awoke to Donna cleaning the wounds on his face. It took him a moment to figure out where he was, but when he did, he quickly shot up to his feet.

“Donna where is Sam?” Dean said.

“He is gone Dean. Chuck took him and zapped him off to somewhere. I don’t know where they went. You need to relax for a minute. You hit your head pretty hard. Just take a moment to collect yourself. Dean looked down the shore to see a body on the ground. It was Eileen. Jody and the girls were kneeling around her with her body covered with a sheet. Donna put her hand on Dean’s shoulder.

“We couldn't save her Dean. We didn’t everything that we could. Eileen lost a lot of blood even before she hit the water and then struggling made her bleed out even faster. She didn’t have a chance.” Donna faced Dean and wrapped her arms around him and just held him tight.

Dean didn’t really hug her back. He was in shock. His brother was gone and the woman he loved was gone too. Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone to call Cass.

“Dean what is it? Dean…Dean are you there?”

“Uhm, Cass I need you to meet us at the bunker as soon as you can.” Dean hung up the phone.

He walked over towards Eileen and everyone cleared out. Dean dropped to his knees and lifted Eileen up into his arms. He was going to have to carry her back to the car. The look on Dean’s face was nothing but pain and loss. Tears one by one fell down his cheek. He didn’t even try to hide them like he usually did. Dean didn’t even say anything to everyone else, he just started walking down the path with Eileen in his arms. Dean was taking her home.

Jody drove Baby back to the bunker with Dean holding Eileen in the back seat. No words were spoken, or eye contact made. He just stared out the window with the occasion tear escaping his eyes.

They all arrived, and Dean didn’t want any help with Eileen. He carried her down the steps and as much as it pained him to do so, he took her to the walk-in freezer. There he laid her on the table and even though she was gone, he still covered her with a blanket. Before he left, Dean leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “I am so sorry Eileen”.

Cass and Amara were waiting with everyone in the library. No one spoke when Dean came into the room. He looked around at everyone with a very tired and drained look on his face. All he said was “We need to find Sam before it’s too late. Please help me find my brother.”

CHAPTER 25  
Amara stepped forward and stood in front of Dean. “I know where they are. God hasn’t taken Sam far, but we need to put our plan into action. We don’t have any time left.”

They all got packed up and loaded up on supplies. Claire and Alex hung back a little but was ready when the call was made. They needed to keep a couple people back for reinforcement. Amara called upon Michael to update on the details. Castiel was with Dean but was quiet. He knew Dean needed to focus but knew the last thing he wanted to do was talk. Or so he thought.

“Look Cass. I need you to hear me out. Which means no interruptions or eye rolls or whatever else you are thinking right now. We don’t know what we are walking to. We don’t know what kind of shape Sam is in right now or if there is anything even left of him. No matter what happens, I need you to stay on course no matter what. We have to lock God away and for good. I’d like to say that we are all going to walk out of there in one piece, but I think you know that isn’t going to happen. You have to help me complete this mission, but I also need to bring my brother home.”

Cass shook his head and just said “I understand”.

CHAPTER 26  
Chuck and taken Sam to an empty airport hangar. It was someplace out of the way where people would not hear Sam’s screams. It was some place that they will not be bothered because, today was the day. The final chapter was written.

Chuck had Sam down on his knees. Beating him bloody. “Come on Sam! Where is your fight! For a soul less guy, you are pretty lame. You are letting little old me beat the crap out of moose size you! You have always been my favorite character Sam. No matter how much crap you have taken on, you never gave up and now look at you…you have given up. This isn’t much fun you know.”  
“

I told you to just end me.” Sam cried. “You have taken everything from me. I killed the woman I loved. What else do you want from me, Chuck?”

Sam lifted his head. There were cuts all over his face. Blood smeared everywhere. Bruising beginning to set in. You could see it in Sam’s eyes, that he didn’t have much left in him.

“It’s clear Sam that you still care way too much about what happens. That is a problem you see, because that doesn’t fit the end of the story. “Chuck said as he paced back and forth in front of him.

Chuck was beginning to get agitated. He quickly and very violently grabbed Sam by the back of the head. Pulled his hair really hard. Sam let out a sharp cry and he gasped for air. Sam looked up at Chuck and slowly blinked. Blood dripping from his nose and the corner of his mouth. Chuck with one had readjusted his grip of Sam’s hair yanking his head back even further. Then with the other hand Chuck punched his hand into Sam’s stomach straight to his soul.

Sam yelled in pain and agony. He fought to hold on but the darkness was coming and coming fast.

“Please, stop.” Sam softly cried.  
His breathing was beginning to slow, and his eyes rolled back into his head. His body was getting heavier and heavier. Before Chuck pulled out his hand, he leaned over and whispered something in Sam’s ear. Then he pulled his hand from his stomach, Sam fell to the side. His body completely limp.

CHAPTER 27  
Just then, Dean, Jody and Donna made their way into the hangar with guns drawn. Each of them emptied their clips aiming for Chuck. Chuck just raised his hand and all the bullets were stopped in mid air and then they all dropped.  
Dean stared at Sam laying motionless on the floor. He had the look of pure panic.

“It’s ok Dean. Sam is still alive. We have had quite the conversation before you arrived.”

Sam began to stir a little. He rolled up onto his hands and knees. Then slowly got to his feet. Blood had dried to his face. There was one thing that was very evident to Dean at this point. Dean could see it in Sam’s eyes. There was a distant look.

“What did you do to him, Chuck? What did you do to Sam?” Dean snapped at Chuck.

“I did what needed to be done Dean. Today is the day that the story ends but you probably know that already.”

Chuck turned his back to Dean and looked up at Sam. “Remember what I told you, Sam. I know you are fighting yourself right now on what to do. I left just enough of your soul to still give you the choice. But I also took enough of it to make you suffer with whatever decision you made. It’s you or him Sam. That’s it.”

Sam with fire in his eyes, grabbed Chuck by the shoulders and threw him to the ground. Dean ran to Sam just wanting to make sure he was ok. Chuck just looked up at them both and slowly moved back. He wanted front row seats for what was about to happen.

Donna and Jody hung back not knowing really what they should be doing but was ready when called. This was about Sam and Dean and they understood that.

“Sam, what did Chuck do to you? Are you ok?” as Dean put his hand on Sam’s shoulder.

Sam looked Dean in the eyes and said “There is only one thing left to do Dean. The only way all of this will stop is….is you have to kill me. From the beginning, this is what he wanted. I either have to kill you or you have to kill me. God has taken a lot more of my soul. Let’s just say I am more soulless Sam, than the Sam you have always known. There is so much of me that just doesn’t care right now, Dean, but I have to see this through. He left me enough of my soul to still make a choice and I have made that choice.” Sam grabbed Dean’s wrist. The wrist that was holding his gun and raised it up. Sam walked right up to the barrel of the weapon, flesh against his chest. “All you have to do it pull the trigger.”

“Let go of me Sam! I mean it, let go of me! I am not going to pull the trigger so stop with the dramatics.” Dean shouted at Sam and stepped back. Making Sam let go of him.

“Dean, this is not up for discussion. I refuse to live my life like this. I’d kill myself but God would just bring me back. It’s not how the story is supposed to end.”

Dean turned to walk away, and Sam grabbed his shoulder and spun him around punching Dean hard to the face. Sending Dean to the ground. Then he kicked him in the ribs a couple of times. Jody and Donna thought now was the time to intervene.

Sam turned to them both and yelling for them to stop. This wasn’t their fight and they would only end up getting hurt or worse yet, dead. Both ladies stopped where they stood. Hoping that Castiel and Amara would be here soon.

The boys continued to beat on each other, punch after punch. Even after what Chuck put Sam through, he was still holding his own. Dean was not going to give in to what Sam wanted, but he also had to keep fighting until Cass arrived. Hoping it would be soon because he really didn’t know how much more he could take.

Chuck was growing board just watching the two brothers beat the crap out of each other. At the snap of his fingers a couple of long spears appeared at their feet. They both stopped and looked down at them. Sam slowly bent over to pick one up.

“Sam don’t do it. You are just playing into his game.” Dean yelled.

“Dean all you have to do is just stick that blade through me and it all will be over. How many times do I have to say it? To be honest Dean, I think you are being pretty selfish. I don’t have much of a soul left and you know what that means. I am a loose cannon. I can’t go on with the rest of my life like this. You can at least move on. I know you don’t want to, but that is the only choice. Chuck isn’t going to stop any of this unless one of us dies. You said it yourself, that you didn’t want to be his puppet anymore. This is your chance.”

Sam turned and looked at Jody and Donna and started walking towards them with the spear in hand.

“Sam, honey what are you doing? Put down the spear. “Jody said with fear in her voice.

Dean ran up behind Sam and knocked him to the ground. Both of them had the spears in hand. Sam quickly got up to his feet and swung the spear at Dean striking him on the arm, cutting through his jacket. It was nothing more than a flesh wound, but still made it bleed a little. It only slowed Dean down for just a split second and they were back battling each other.

  
Sam was beginning to slow down. His body wasn’t able to keep up with Dean. He knew he needed to knock Dean down a notch or two to give himself a second to recover, even if it was just for a moment. Sam swung at Dean hitting him on his back, stunning him. Then he swept his legs out from underneath of him sending Dean hard to the ground.  
Sam was hoping that would keep Dean down for just a minute, but it didn’t. Dean quickly stood up unfortunately with his back to Sam. He quickly turned around as Sam was coming towards him to knock him down again. Dean’s reflexes just saw Sam coming at him fast and just put the spear up for protection. Sam couldn’t stop himself in time as Dean turned around and the spear stabbed him on the left side of his chest. Sam felt the spear go right through his ribs.  
Sam collapsed to the ground holding his chest as the blood began to ooze out the wound. Jody and Donna rushed to his side.

“Sam you need to lay still. Let us check you over. We need to see how it is.” Jody said as she rolled him over to his back.  
“No, don’t touch me. Leave me alone. This is how it’s supposed to be. If you want to help me, go get Dean and leave. Let me die.”

Dean stood there in shock at what just happened.

CHAPTER 28  
Just then Castiel walked through the doors of the hangar along with Amara. The grin fell quickly from Chuck’s face.

“No, you both need to go! You are not a part of this story. This doesn’t concern you.” Chuck said angrily.

Amara flung her hand and tossed Chuck against the wall, stunning him. She slowly walked over to him, holding him tight against the wall.

“Brother you have one chance to stop this. Leave these boys alone and never bother them again. You can go off and play your games elsewhere, but you will never interfere with them again.”

“And if I don’t? Chuckled God.

Amara grabbed ahold of Chuck’s arm and a bright glow appeared. A mark appeared on his arm. A mark similar to what he gave Amara to lock her away.

“No, no, no! You can’t do this! I’m God you fool!”

Amara stepped back and let Chuck go. She felt she had the upper hand and he wouldn’t do anything that would cause himself to be locked away. That was far from the truth. God, though not at full strength used his powers to toss his sister about 20 feet away.

He quickly walked over to Sam who was still laying on the ground where Jody and Donna were attending to his wound. Chuck tossed the two women like rag dolls back at Dean, knocking him to the ground once again.

Dean got up and ran towards Chuck and was stopped in his tracks with one hand. Then Chuck used his other hand to lift Sam off the ground and raise him about 20 feet into the air. Sam let out a couple of soft whimpers. His back arched with arms and legs dangling under him. A couple drops of blood dripped to the ground too.

“Sammy, can you hear me? Sam?” Dean yelled hopping to get Sam to respond. Sadly, there was not.

Castiel rushed to Jody and Donna’s side to make sure there were ok. Thankfully they were and Amara was ok too. They all migrated together. Looking up at Sam’s dangling body in the air.

“All of you need to stop the nonsense! I don’t know what you thought was going to happen here today, but this was not it. If you aren’t careful, none of you will leave the hangar alive. I will make sure of that!” Chuck said. 

“Amara, you need to remove this mark from my arm now.” Chuck demanded.

“I can’t remove it and even if I could, I wouldn’t remove it brother. You have taken all of this too far. All because Sam and Dean do not want to be a part of your story. You have planned their lives since before they were born. Everything that has happened to both of them is because of you. It’s like you enjoy watching them suffer. Chuck haven’t these boys suffered enough. Let them go. Give Sam back his soul because I know you can.”

Chuck laughed after Amara gave her speech. “I’m not going to stop. The story isn’t quite finished, but hey, this is a little added extra bonus.”

The windows began to shutter and the walls clanked. Chuck looked around.

“What’s going on here? No. No, it can’t be... Michael?”

Michael appear immediately behind Chuck. He had the Michael sword in hand and jabbed the sword through Chuck’s back, causing him to drop Sam 20 feet to the ground.

Dean yelled for Sam and rushed over to him. His eyes were closed and not moving. Blood was pooling around his head and by the sound of his breathing, his ribs were broke. 

Donna called Alex and Claire to come to the hanger immediately.

“Amara now! Dean yelled. Lock him away now! I’m ready! Let’s just get this over with!”

Dean was going to carry the mark just like he did the Mark of Cain. They were not able to kill God, but this was the next best thing. Lock him away so that he could not hurt anyone else.

Amara and Michael together with their powers began the process of moving the mark to Dean. The burning sensation filled his body as the mark began to attach to Dean’s arm.

Castiel in the last moment before it was complete, took out his angel blade and stabbed Dean in abdomen.

“Cass what are you doing,” gasped Dean. “No, this isn’t how it was supposed to happen.”

“Amara, Michael....transfer the mark to me. Now!” yelled Cass.  
Within moments the mark was transferred to Cass and Chuck went up white dust, completing the spell. It was done. God was officially locked away in the mark now on Castiel’s arm. The boys were free.

CHAPTER 29  
Claire and Alex came running in and saw the aftermath. Cass standing in the middle of the hanger. Michael was already gone, and Amara stood off to the side. Jody and Donna were each attending to both Sam and Dean. Alex ran to Dean first, but Dean quickly made her to tend to Sam.

Claire got some clean bandages for Dean. He was bleeding out pretty fast. They were able to slow the bleeding but was having troubles stopping it.

“Dean, please let us call 911, please. If we can get you to the hospital, they can fix you up. It doesn’t have to end like this. You and Sam deserve better than this.” Claire cried as she held Dean’s cheek in her hands. “You both have saved my life more than once, please, please let me save yours!”

Dean brought his hand up to Claire’s hand and squeezed it. It was becoming more and more difficult for Dean to catch is breath. He didn’t have much time left. Dean asked for Castiel.

Cass knelt down beside Dean. “I’m sorry Dean, but I had too. Please understand. I know you are mad at me for doing this and I want to explain. Then if you still want to be mad then that is your choice. I knew you would not live in peace after this was over. For the last 15 years, you and Sam both have struggled and sacrificed each other to save or bring the other one back. I knew this would not be any different. I couldn’t stand by and watch you live your life without your brother. You see I made a deal of my own while back. When Jack died the first time. The empty was raiding heaven looking for him. The only way they would leave heaven and leave all the souls alone, was if I made a deal with them. I told them to let Jack go and to take me instead. They have wanted me there for many years and I agreed to go. But it was to easy. They wanted me to suffer too. So, the deal was, that when I was finally at peace and happy, they would yank me to the empty where I would spend my eternal sleep. They grew impatient with me and so I made an additional deal. I would take the mark of God under one condition. You and Sam were marked for hell. Souls who have been in hell can not go to heaven. I convinced them to let you both go to heaven. Dean I have to now hold up my end of the deal. As soon as I know that you both are both safe in heaven, I will be taken to the empty. This way everyone wins.”

Dean managed to get the words “Cass, you’re a crazy son of a bitch,” out in between coughs and gasps. And then the words “Thank you for what you did.”

Alex came over to Dean to give the report on Sam. Which was very grim. She got down on her knees beside him. Jody stayed with Sam who was still unconscious.

“Hey Dean…can you hear me ok?” Alex touched Dean’s hand and Dean nodded that he could.

“Dean, I’m so sorry. Sam isn’t doing well at all. Just from what I can tell, the stab wound punctured his lung, but the 20-foot fall caused most of the damage. He has a pretty bad skull fracture and is showing signs of intercranial pressure. Many of Sam’s ribs are broken which is also causing him to struggle with his breathing. His belly is really soft which tells me he has a lot of internal bleeding.”

“Alex, stop. It’s ok, I get it, Sam is dying.” Dean whispered.

“I’m so sorry” Alex cried.

“Cass, I don’t want you to heal Sam, but is there a way that you can at least wake him up and not be in a horrible amount of pain? I just want to talk to my brother one last time. I mean, just in case, you know...”

Cass shook his head. Donna and the girls helped move Dean closer to Sam. Cass touched Sam’s forehead and seconds later Sam slowly opened his eyes. Immediately he struggled to breath and coughed which made it worse. Alex told Jody to help him sit up. It would be easier on his lungs. She sat behind him as they lifted him up. Sam leaned against Jody’s chest and once he got settled, he was able to breath a little better.

After a couple slow deep breaths, Sam was able to open his eyes to see Dean laying next to him. He was resting his head on Donna’s lap to help him see Sam better.

“Hey Sammy. Can you hear me ok?”

Sam shook his head and tried to speak, but nothing came out.

“Shhh it’s ok Sammy. Don’t push it. Sam I just wanted to let you know that we did it. We are free. God isn’t going to bother us anymore.”

“Dean…where is Eileen?” Sam struggles to asks in between coughs.

Dean looks up at Jody.

Jody leans over to Sam’s ear. “Sam honey, Eileen didn’t make it. She lost to much blood and we didn’t get her out of the water soon enough.”

Claire pulled out of her pocket the photo that Dean had taken and placed it in Sam’s hand. He tried to focus on the photo and could only feel the pain in his gut. It is his fault that Eileen is dead. Tears fell down the side of his face. Then he began to cough and gag a lot. Sam was running out of time. He was struggling to keep his eyes open.

“Sammy look at me. Come one just one more time, you can do it. I need to you focus on me just for a couple more minutes and then you can rest. I promise.” Dean begged.

Sam opened his eyes to focus on his brother. He was very week and tired, but he did what his brother told him to do.

“There you are. I know a lot has happened to us Sam, but there is one thing I know. You always believed in us even when I couldn’t. I proud of you Sammy.”

Dean reached up and touched Sam’s arm.

Sam mustered up enough energy to speak three words to Dean “Proud of us”. After that Sam started gasping for air. The pain was over whelming.

Moments later Billie appear behind Sam and Jody. Dean saw her and knew why she was there.

“It’s time Dean. I’m here for your brother. He fought a good fight, but it’s time for him to go.”

Death stood over Sam and touched his hand and at that very moment Sam Winchester then took his last breath and closed his eyes for the final time. Sam was no longer in pain and most importantly, he was no longer suffering.

Jody couldn’t hide her tears or sobs any longer. Neither could Donna or the girls. Jody wrapped her arms around Sam and held him as tight as she could. She loved Sam like a son, and she will never forget all that he ever did for her and the girls.

Dean wasn’t fairing well himself. He held on strong until Sam was gone, but now he doesn’t have much left in him. Billie walked over to Dean.

“So, I guess it is finally going to happen Dean. You don’t have anymore tricks up your sleeves, do you?” Billie asked.

Dean shook his head no.

“I know this is hard for you Dean. You and your brother have done a lot. Saved the world a couple of times even. I know I gave you both a lot of crap about dying and coming back, but I get it now. You boys have saved a lot of people and changed lives. It’s time for you to go as well.” Billie said.

Jody laid Sam’s body down and came over to join the rest of them to say goodbye. They all gathered around his body. His head still resting on Donna’s lap. Dean had lost so much blood that his face was as pale as a ghost. Then he took a couple of big breaths and that was it. His eyes closed for the final time as well. Billie touched his hand to make it final.

Sam and Dean Winchester had fought their final battles today and took their final breaths. Their story came to and end, but it was an end that brought them peace.  
Castiel just watched from afar as the boys took their final breaths. He wanted this time to be with his friends that were closest to them. Before he took off for heaven, he went over and told everyone goodbye and wished them well. Cass thanked them for always being there for Sam and Dean. They gave one last hug and Castiel vanished up to heaven. He had one final thing to do before he went to the empty.

CHAPTER 30  
Castiel walked the halls of heaven. He was glad to see that Sam and Dean shared their own heaven. He wouldn’t want it any other way. He took a deep breath and opened the door. There he saw Sam and Dean together, having dinner with John and Mary. He looked around and saw so many more familiar faces. He saw Bobby, Ellen, Jo, Ash, Charlie, Jessica and even Eileen. The people who meant the most to them. Sam and Dean were finally happy. Cass backed out and closed the door.  
And by the blink of an eye, Castiel was gone. The deal was complete. He will now rest peacefully in the empty with God locked away.

CHAPTER 31  
Donna and Jody couldn’t bring themselves to giving Sam, Dean and Eileen a hunter’s funeral. Their guts were telling them, that if they needed to come back, they would need bodies to come back too. Jody found a quiet spot in the timber not to far from the bunker. The graves were left unmarked, but they new where they were. Baby was parked in the garage and Jody took the key to the bunker with her. They didn’t even pack anything up. Sam and Dean’s rooms were left as is along with everything else.  
Jody, Claire and Alex gave Donna a huge group hug. They didn’t know when they would all see one another again but promised to keep in touch. Lives were going to change. They were all going to have to figure out how to go on with their lives without Sam and Dean Winchester in it.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed my story. Comments are welcome but please remember, I am not a professional writer. This was all in good fun. :)


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